A federal judge in Maryland ruled Thursday that the social movement known as Black Lives Matter cannot be sued. The judge likened Black Lives Matter to movements such as the tea party or the civil rights movement and said therefore that it cannot be sued.
The ruling was initiated after an anonymously filed lawsuit by a Baltimore police officer who was injured by a rock thrown during a protest in Baton Rouge last year. The lawsuit named the Black Lives Matter movement and a prominent Baltimore activist named DeRay Mckesson but was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson. Jackson said in his 24-page ruling, "Although many entities have utilized the phrase ‘black lives matter' in their titles or business designations, ‘Black Lives Matter' itself is not an entity of any sort."
DeRay Mckesson gave a statement following the ruling, "It's clear that I did nothing wrong that day and that the police were the only violent people in the streets. The movement began as a call to end violence. and that call remains the same today." Mckesson's attorney, Billy Gibbens said: "This is a movement, and there isn't a person who is responsible for it, or the leader or the founder of it." The attorney for the officer argued, "It's organized. They have meetings. They solicit money. They have national chapters.This shows a level of national organization."
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Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-black-lives-matter-mckesson-suit-20170928-story.html
