California Police Defeat Fired Officer’s Jan. 6-Related Lawsuit

The Pleasanton, Calif., police department won the dismissal of an ex-officer’s lawsuit claiming he was fired for attending a “Stop the Steal” rally while off duty on Jan. 6, 2021, in violation of his First Amendment rights and not, weeks later, for social media posts that breached official policies.

The officer, Peter McNeff, failed to establish a connection between his firing and his attendance in plain clothes at the Sacramento, Calif., election denial rally,, the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled Wednesday.

Pleasanton police chief David Swing and the city fired McNeff after an investigation by ...