The ACLU of Virginia announced today that a settlement agreement was reached in Burke v. Clarke, a federal lawsuit on behalf of Randy Burke, a practicing Rastafarian who was put in solitary confinement for over five years for refusing to cut his hair.

The ACLU of Virginia has significant concerns that the fencing erected around the Lee Monument grounds is unnecessarily infringing on the public’s First Amendment rights while these legal battles play out in the courtroom.

The court dismissed the lawsuit to hold police accountable for violating protesters' rights, denying the protesters a trial on this matter.

We respect the right of all people to film and report on the actions of police and to document those actions for the general public. No one should be harassed on public streets by police just because they are filming them in action.