![SCOTUS throws out First Amendment case against BLM activist](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/33986bd3d586f4501f784dc8d16e4361509a229a/c=0-52-1024-631/local/-/media/2017/09/28/USATODAY/USATODAY/636422108436908081-deray.jpg?width=660&height=374&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
The justices tossed out a federal appeals court decision that allowed a Black Lives Matter protest organizer to be sued by a police officer injured by an unknown assailant.
The 2016 incident in Baton Rouge, La., followed the shooting death of Alton Sterling by a white police officer, which triggered weeks of protests across the U.S.
The officer, identified as John Doe, was struck in the face by a rock. He sued DeRay Mckesson, a Black Lives Matter activist, on the theory that he “knew or should have known … that violence would result.”
The officer, who suffered injuries to his brain, jaw and teeth, also sued Black Lives Matter. That was tossed out on the theory that BLM is a social movement and cannot be sued.