Four city council members filed a civil rights lawsuit against New York City on Monday for its response to the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, alleging that city police used excessive force and violated free speech rights as part of its crackdown on protesters.
The Associated Press
reports that the lawmakers also claim that city officials arrested
protesters on questionable charges and interfered with journalists and
city council members who attempted to observe the demonstrations.
JPMorgan and Brookfield Office Properties are also named as defendants
in the lawsuit, Bloomberg notes.
"This unlawful conduct has been undertaken with the intention of obstructing, chilling, deterring and retaliating against (the) plaintiffs for engaging in constitutionally protected protest activity," the lawsuit alleges.
