ARIZONA/LAWSUIT/POLICE/RALLY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Two advocacy groups alleged in a lawsuit Tuesday [9-4-18] that police in Phoenix violated the free-speech rights of protesters outside a rally by President Donald Trump by firing tear gas as they were about to confront Trump supporters. The excessive force lawsuit against the Phoenix Police Department says police didn’t try to remove a few problematic anti-Trump protesters and instead acted violently toward a large number of peaceful demonstrators. It also says officers deliberately targeted anti-Trump protesters and showed a preference toward Trump supporters. The police agency ‘silenced anti-Trump protesters at the precise moment that they sought to have their opinions heard by the intended audience — President Trump and his supporters as they left the Convention Center,’ the lawsuit says. Police spokeswoman Sgt. Mercedes Fortune declined to comment on the lawsuit. The protest was held a year ago at a rally where Trump hinted he would pardon former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a Trump ally. Arpaio had been convicted of criminal contempt of court for intentionally ignoring a judge’s order to stop his traffic patrols that targeted immigrants. Days later, the president pardoned Arpaio.”
–The Associated Press, “Lawsuit Filed Over Protest Outside Trump Rally in Phoenix,” The New York Times online, September 4, 2018