Officer’s Suit Against Black Lives Matter Leader May Proceed

A panel opinion allowing a Baton Rouge, La., police officer to sue a Black Lives Matter leader for injuries the officer received during a demonstration won’t be reheard by the full Fifth Circuit.

In the original opinion, the three-judge panel said Officer John Doe’s tort suit against DeRay Mckesson wasn’t prevented by the First Amendment. The amendment doesn’t protect violence, and Doe’s complaint alleges Mckesson directed the demonstrators in a criminal act, that the conflict with police was foreseeable, and that his injuries were a consequence of the tortious activity, it said.

But that opinion was withdrawn when Judge ...