(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump fans who accuse police of not protecting them at a 2016 presidential campaign rally that turned violent failed to convince a judge that their case should proceed as a class action.
The 20 rally-goers who brought civil rights claims against San Jose, California, and a handful of police officers sought to represent thousands of others who they allege were put in danger at the event. On Tuesday, a federal judge declined to expand the case.
People who came to downtown San Jose in June 2016 to support the Republican candidate complained of being punched, chased and harassed -- and in one instance, bitten -- by counter-protesters. The central allegation in the suit is that Trump supporters were directed by officers “toward the violent mob, away from safety, and were then abandoned there.” A trial is set for June, at the height of the 2020 campaign season.
Read More: Beaten Trump Fans Try to Make Suit Blaming Cops 150 Times Bigger
The case -- filed by conservative lawyer, Republican Party officer and Fox News contributor Harmeet Dhillon -- already has survived multiple efforts by San Jose to derail it. A federal appeals court last year rejected the city’s argument that police couldn’t be second-guessed for making legitimate law enforcement decisions, with a three-judge panel saying officers were aware of violence at other pro-Trump rallies.
The plaintiffs leading the case asked the court to let to let them represent all the other Trump fans who were directed by police toward anti-Trump protesters as they left the gathering or were blocked from taking an alternate route. The city estimated about 3,000 people attended the event.
The city argued that allowing the case to proceed as a class action would improperly lump together thousands of people who had varying personal experiences at the rally -- including some who taunted protesters.
The case is Hernandez v. San Jose, 16-cv-03957, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).
Story Link: Trump Fans Suing Cops Over 2016 Rally Lose Bid for Class Action
--With assistance from Robert Burnson.
To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Blumberg in San Francisco at pblumberg1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Peter Blumberg
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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