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July 7 (Reuters) - A police officer wounded in a shooting rampage in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, last year that left three officers dead sued Black Lives Matter movement leaders on Friday, accusing them of inciting violence that spurred the attack.

The lawsuit filed in a U.S. district court in Louisiana named DeRay McKesson and four other Black Lives Matter leaders as defendants and sought at least $75,000 in damages.

It came on the one-year anniversary of one of the deadliest days in modern U.S. history for law enforcement. On July 7, 2016, a black man angered by what he saw as deadly racial bias in U.S. policing launched a downtown Dallas sniper attack, killing five officers deployed at a protest decrying police shootings of black men.

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Baton Rouge shooting -- images from the scene

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BATON ROUGE, LA - JULY 17: An East Baton Rouge Police officer patrols Airline Hwy after 3 police officers were killed early this morning on July 17, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. According to reports, one suspect has been killed while others are still being sought by police. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

BATON ROUGE, LA - JULY 17: East Baton Rouge Police officers patrol Airline Hwy after 3 police officers were killed early this morning on July 17, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. According to reports, one suspect has been killed while others are still being sought by police. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

BATON ROUGE, LA - JULY 17: East Baton Rouge Police officers patrol Airline Hwy after 3 police officers were killed early this morning on July 17, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. According to reports, one suspect has been killed while others are still being sought by police. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

BATON ROUGE, LA - JULY 17: Baton Rouge Police officers patrol Airline Hwy after 3 police officers were killed early this morning on July 17, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. According to reports, one suspect has been killed while others are still being sought by police. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

BATON ROUGE, LA - JULY 17: Baton Rouge Police officers patrol Airline Hwy after 3 police officers were killed early this morning on July 17, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. According to reports, one suspect has been killed while others are still being sought by police. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

BATON ROUGE, LA - JULY 17: Baton Rouge Police officers patrol Airline Hwy after 3 police officers were killed early this morning on July 17, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. According to reports, one suspect has been killed while others are still being sought by police. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

An American flag flies at half mast near the scene of a fatal shooting of police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Joe Penney

A police helicopter flies near the scene of a fatal shooting of police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Joe Penney

An officer from the Louisiana Wildlife Service blocks off a road near the scene of a fatal shooting of police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Law enforcement vehicles block access to Airline Highway near the scene of a fatal shooting of police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S., July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman

Police officers block off Airline Highway near the scene of a fatal shooting of police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Joe Penney

A law enforcement helicopter is seen near the scene where police officers were shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman

A law enforcement helicopter is seen near the scene where police officers were shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman

Lew enforcement officers block a road after a fatal shooting of police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman

Police officers block off a road near the site of a shooting of police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Police officers arrive near the site of a shooting of police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Joe Penney

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McKesson was not immediately available for comment and Black Lives Matter leaders have denied accusations that their movement promotes violence against police.

About 10 days after the Dallas shooting, a decorated ex-U.S. Marine sergeant opened fire on police in Baton Rouge, killing three officers.

Baton Rouge had been hit by waves of protests after two police officers earlier that month killed a black man, Alton Sterling, under questionable circumstances. The incident was caught on video and sparked national debate.

The officer wounded in Baton Rouge, who was not named in the lawsuit, was shot by "a person violently protesting against police, and which violence was caused or contributed to by the leaders of and by 'BLACK LIVES MATTER'," the filing said.

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Black Lives Matter signs

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CITY HALL, PHILADELPHIA, PA, UNITED STATES - 2016/07/26: Demonstrators from the Black Lives Matter movement and those standing in solidarity with the movement's demand for ending police brutality staged a 'Black Resistance March' in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the second day of the Democratic Presidential Convention. (Photo by Albin Lohr-Jones/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - AUGUST 05: Protesters display protest placards as they attend a 'Black Lives Matter' group rally during a nationwide day of action on August 05, 2016 in London, England. The demonstrations called on the UK to 'shutdown' a crisis of racism. (Photo by Michael Tubi/Corbis via Getty Images)

CITY HALL, PHILADELPHIA, PA, UNITED STATES - 2016/07/26: Demonstrators from the Black Lives Matter movement and those standing in solidarity with the movement's demand for ending police brutality staged a 'Black Resistance March' in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the second day of the Democratic Presidential Convention. (Photo by Albin Lohr-Jones/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

CITY HALL, PHILADELPHIA, PA, UNITED STATES - 2016/07/26: Demonstrators from the Black Lives Matter movement and those standing in solidarity with the movement's demand for ending police brutality staged a 'Black Resistance March' in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the second day of the Democratic Presidential Convention. (Photo by Albin Lohr-Jones/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

LONDON, UK - JULY 9: A protestor holds a placard at Windrush Square ahead of the rally and march in solidarity following the shooting of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile by poilice in New Orleans and Minnesota respectively. The protest march on 9 July 2016 began at at Windrush Square in Brixton, South London. To date about 509 people have been shot and killed by police in 2016 in America this year so far. (Photo by David Mbiyu/Corbis via Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 17 : Protestors hold banners and chant slogans during a Black Lives matter rally in Melbourne, Australia on July 17, 2016. Approximately 3500 protestors rallied in Melbourne to show 'solidarity' after racial violence in US. (Photo by Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

People hold up signs during a Black Lives Matter protest on Black Friday in Seattle, Washington on November 27, 2015. AFP PHOTO/JASON REDMOND / AFP / JASON REDMOND (Photo credit should read JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images)

TORONTO, ON - APR. 4: Black Lives Matter signage in front of Toronto Police Headquarters. (Vince Talotta/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - AUGUST 05: A protester displays a protest placard as they attend a 'Black Lives Matter' group rally during a nationwide day of action on August 05, 2016 in London, England. The demonstrations called on the UK to 'shutdown' a crisis of racism. (Photo by Michael Tubi/Corbis via Getty Images)

TOPSHOT - Chalk graffiti on the ground is seen at an encampment of activists associated with the Black Lives Matter movement, on August 12, 2016, outside of City Hall in Los Angeles, California. The activists, who have already spent 32 days camped outside City Hall to protest police killings of brown and black men and women, plan to remain in the camp until Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck, who activists call the leader of 'the most murderous police force in the country' is fired or resigns. / AFP / Robyn BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

CITY HALL, PHILADELPHIA, PA, UNITED STATES - 2016/07/26: Demonstrators from the Black Lives Matter movement and those standing in solidarity with the movement's demand for ending police brutality staged a 'Black Resistance March' in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the second day of the Democratic Presidential Convention. (Photo by Albin Lohr-Jones/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Two women hold a placard with the slogan 'Yes, all lives matter' as people gather in Brixton, south London to protest against police brutality in the US, on July 9, 2016, after two recent incidents where black men have been shot and killed by police officers. / AFP / Daniel Leal-Olivas (Photo credit should read DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images)

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 20: A sign demanding the release of video footage of the killing of Jamar Clark hangs on a fence at a candlelight vigil held for Clark outside the 4th police precinct November 20, 2015 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Activists are keeping up pressure for more information about the shooting death of Clark by a Minneapolis police officer (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - 2016/01/12: Sign listing fact about the killing of Ramarley Graham. The parents of slain NYC teen Ramarley Graham joined members of the NY city council and Black Lives Matter activists to demand the US attorney investigate their son's death at the hands of NYPD officers. (Photo by Andy Katz/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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Gavin Long, the black gunman who killed the Baton Rouge officers and was later shot dead, identified himself as a member of an African-American offshoot of the anti-government, mostly white Sovereign Citizen Movement, documents showed. Last year, McKesson and two other activists sued the Baton Rouge police department and other officials over the arrests of nearly 200 demonstrators during mostly peaceful protests over police killings. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas and Bryn Stole in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Editing by Andrew Hay)

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Black Lives Matter leaders sued over Baton Rouge police ...

Demonstrators protest the shooting death of Alton Sterling near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. July 9, 2016. Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

A personal injury lawyer filed a federal lawsuit on Friday, claiming that Black Lives Matter and its leaders are responsible for the wounding of a police officer by a lone shooter after protests in Baton Rouge one year ago.

The lawsuit names five front-runners of the movement as defendants, including Alicia Garza and Johnetta Netta Elzie, but fixates on social media posts and television interviews by Deray Mckesson as evidence that they support and cause violence. Its asking for $75,000 on behalf of an unnamed officer who was shot three times and permanently disabled during an attack that also killed three police officers on July 17.

Gavin Long, the shooter who was killed by police that day, was an ex-Marine from Kansas City, thought to be seeking revenge after two white officers shot and killed 37-year-old Alton Sterling, a black man. Louisiana State Police detectives recently stated that Long had not joined in any of the protests in Baton Rouge or elsewhere, according to local reports.

But Sterling was killed on July 5, and the bulk of the 28-page filing claims that protests often led by Mckesson that weekend and beforehand were what caused Long to ambush police more than a week later.

Citing what Black Lives Matter referred to as a Weekend of Rage, it details protesters throwing rocks and getting arrested, claiming that Mckesson was inciting lawless actions and did nothing to stop the criminal conduct.

DeRay McKesson was present during the protests and he did nothing to calm the crowd and, instead, he incited the violence on behalf of [Black Lives Matter], the filing states.

But the connection is unclear. While the suit lists several protests since the movement started around 2012 to rail against killings of black people, including at the hands of white police, it does not point to any time defendants explicitly encouraged a shooting.

READ NEXT: Column: White people dont understand the trauma of viral police-killing videos

A First Amendment lawyer described the case as bizarre to the NewsHour, saying it looks more like a fishing expedition than a legitimate claim.

David Roland, the director of litigation at the Freedom Center of Missouri, also said that is extremely unsettling.

I think the lawsuit first and foremost was intended to be a shot across the bow to anyone who has been publicly critical of police, said Roland. Its saying, Unless you expressly disavow tactics that we dont like, were going to come after you, were going to destroy you in court.

Roland likened the motivation behind the suit to the Ironclad Oath, which during the Civil War would only allow certain employment rights to people who took an oath disowning the Confederacy.

If you did not explicitly disavow the actions of the Confederates, then you violated the oath and were ineligible to work, he said. Its actually the same principle being applied here.

This is at least the third lawsuit to follow the protests in Baton Rouge after Sterlings death.

Mckesson and other activist leaders have since settled one with Baton Rouge that claims the arrests that weekend were unreasonable and unconstitutionally vague, violating their civil rights.

And Donna Grodner, the lead lawyer in the suit filed Friday who said she was unauthorized to discuss the case, is also involved in another case against Black Lives Matter and Mckesson on behalf of an officer who was hit by debris during the protest.

Though that suit, filed in November, does not directly accuse Mckesson of throwing anything, it says he arrived to Baton Rouge with the intention to incite others to violence against police.

In March, Mckessons attorney, William Gibbens, asked the U.S. district court judge to dismiss the case for relying too heavily on speculative allegations. The request was denied. Local media reported that the judge said a key question is whether, under Louisiana law, Black Lives Matter is capable of suing and being sued, a decision that he has yet to make.

But apart from that legal question, Roland was more worried about damage to freedom of speech. While suggesting that the suit filed Friday would be thrown out because it failed to make a connection between the activists and the shooting of an officer, he also pointed out the burden of proof is lesser in civil cases than in criminal.

Its easier to dissuade protests, to chill speech, using the threat of a civil suit at least in some ways, he said. It cant result in someone going to jail, but it can result in them being bankrupt.

Mckesson was active on Twitter but had not mentioned anything about the suit as of Saturday afternoon.

Omar Etman contributed reporting.

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Baton Rouge officer wounded by lone shooter sues Black Lives Matter - PBS NewsHour

Photo: Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle

Black Lives Matter activist Shere Dore speaks at a press conference, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, in Houston. was taken in on a warrant while on her way to the courthouse.

Black Lives Matter activist Shere Dore speaks at a press conference, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, in Houston. was taken in on a warrant while on her way to the courthouse.

Bryan X shares his thoughts before protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

Bryan X shares his thoughts before protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

A mounted police holds onto his horse while protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

A mounted police holds onto his horse while protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

Protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

Protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

A mounted police officers watches as protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

A mounted police officers watches as protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

Protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

Protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

Outside diners watch as protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

Outside diners watch as protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

Protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

Protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

Bryan X shares his thoughts before protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

Bryan X shares his thoughts before protesters take to the streets in downtown Houston to share their displeasure with Donald Trump being the president elect on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

Black Lives Matter activist accused of punching horse arrested for speeding warrant on way to court

The prominent Black Lives Matter activist accused of punching a horse was arrested Thursday morning on her way to a court date.

Shere Dore and her partner were driving to the Harris County courthouse for an appearance in the earlier case when officers pulled the pair over and arrested Dore for warrants stemming from a two-year-old speeding charge.

Local activists were quick to cry foul.

"Law enforcement agencies have decided to set Shere up for coming out against them with her activism and various allyship," said Ashton Woods of Black Lives Matter Houston.

BACKGROUND: Trump protester accused of punching police horse taken back into custody

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"They were on their way to court - the officer was literally staked out waiting for them."

The 41-year-old was taken to the Fort Bend County jail and held pending payment of her outstanding fees, prompting the Harris County court to revoke her bond when she failed to appear.

"It is interesting that this outstanding warrant did not come up when she was arrested in November of 2016 and more interesting that it would come up the morning of her court date," said Brian Harrison, who has represented her in the Harris County case, along with attorney Jolanda Jones.

It was not immediately clear which law enforcement agency pulled Dore over Thursday.

"I don't know why they were stopped on the morning of her court date, a date which I know a number of people thought was her trial date," Harrison said.

TROUBLE:5 arrested during rowdy anti-Trump protests in Houston

Woods agreed that the timing of the arrest was not coincidental.

"This is some clear foul play," he said. "I think that the law enforcement agencies are colluding with each other."

Local activists, supporters and friends rallied around the well-known advocate for the homeless, chipping in funds to secure Dore's release. But even once she pays the $1,083.10 owed in Fort Bend, she'll still be held until a Harris County judge can reinstate her bond, Harrison said.

The Harris County felony charge - interfering with a police service animal - stems from a spirited November march through downtown Houston.

During the nighttime protest two days after Trump's election, Dore was one of a handful of demonstrators arrested after the gathering spilled out into city streets.

As an officer on a police horse named Astro started to push Dore back onto the sidewalk, Dore allegedly hit the animal with a closed fist, a charge her lawyers have consistently denied.

"I want the world to know that our clients are absolutely innocent. They have a First Amendment right to protest," Jones said after a November court date.

"I think this is one of the first indications of what's going to happen with the new president."

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Black Lives Matter activist accused of punching horse arrested for speeding warrant on way to court - Chron.com

Counter-protesters swarmed downtownNew Haven to shout down a rally featuringlibertarian speaker Augustus Invictus on Saturday morning.One has been hospitalized after getting pepper sprayed by authorities; at least threehave been arrested.

I saw three arrested. I heard there was a fourth, said a protester requesting only to be identified as IV. There are only twoother people in the U.S. with my last name and theyre in their seventies. My pronouns are they and this.

The rally was organized by local white nationalist groups with ties to Proud Boys, a new political movement helmedin the U.S. by the Canadian Vice Media-cofounder Gavin McInnes. The group has attracted thousands of members and promotes minimal government, maximum freedom, anti-political correctness, anti-racial guilt, pro-gun rights, anti-Drug War, closed borders, anti-masturbation, venerating entrepreneurs, venerating housewives, and reinstating a spirit of Western chauvinism during an age of globalism and multiculturalism, according to their Facebook page.

Augustus Invictus (an alias which translates into majestic unconquered sun in Latin)isbest known for controversial antics like sacrificing a goat and drinking its blood, along withrunning a failedcampaign for Marco Rubios Senate seat in Florida as a Libertarian (which promptedthe resignation of Floridas Libertarian Party chairman AdrianWyllie). He has openly advocated for eugenics and a civil warwhileattractinga following of mostly neo-Nazis and white nationalists.

Ninety-nine percent of the things that seem weird in my life can be answered with my religion,he told a reporter for Vicein 2015. Paganism, he added, is mostly about nature-worship. Its about being in harmony with your environment and bringing the world of spirit and world of man together. Its about balance.

Counter-protesters numbered about 150 and came from different groups such as Black Lives Matter, SURGE, and New Haven Uprising.

All of you are going to go back to Clinton [Connecticut] and were going to be the ones cleaning up after you! shouted a New Haven resident to the protesters. I got paint on my brand new iPhone.

The groups were last seenmarchingtowardsthe New Haven police station on 1 Union Ave to demand the release of the arrested counter protesters.

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Neo Nazis, Black Lives Matter, And Progressive Groups Clash In New Haven - The Daily Caller

BTW

The NRA released an incendiary ad in April, calling for its members to fight back against the resistance with the clenched fist of truth while showing images of violent protests and injured Donald Trump supporters. The video went viral late last month when journalist Jeff Sharlet tweeted the video, hosted by conservative talk radio host and NRAspokesperson Dana Loesch, and described it as a whisper shy of a call for full civil war.

Now, Black Lives Matterhas responded with its own video. It starts off in the same style as the NRA video, with foreboding music and chilling clips showing Philando Castile and Dylann Roof.

But then, the video changes tone.

Wait, hold up, the spokeswoman said. Whats with the aggressive fear-mongering video tactics?

She then brings up the lights to reveal family members of black men and women who were killed by police, saying, When the NRA issues a public call to their constituents inciting violence against people who are constitutionally fighting for their lives, we dont take that lightly. We know that were not safe. Were not scared either.

Heres the original NRA video:

And the Black Lives Matter response:

H/T Business Insider

Go here to see the original:
Here's how Black Lives Matter has responded to that controversial NRA viral video - The Daily Dot