The lawsuit in question is #Buchanan v. #Trump,
a case that started in 2020 after protesters sued Trump in his official capacity and a number of other officials for unconstitutionally clearing them away from #Lafayette #Square #Park that June
by using chemical irritants including tear gas in as they #peacefully #protested the police killing of #George #Floyd.

Trump famously walked through the park moments afterwards to visit a church and take a photo with a #Bible.

The case has faced many twists and turns and has been litigated for years.
Buchanan as well as another group of plaintiffs represented by the American Civil Liberties Union in a separate lawsuit, Black Lives Matter DC v. Trump, ended up settling with government after pitched litigation.

With that settlement, new policies for protesters were achieved.
But what remained were #damage #claims against Trump and other officials present at the square that day, like former Attorney General #Bill #Barr.

Buchanan’s claims were ultimately thrown out due to restrictive laws protecting federal officials from civil lawsuits and they appealed. But they lost again on similar grounds.

With that finding made and their lawsuits at a seeming standstill, the Buchanan plaintiffs had one avenue left:
A new amended complaint approved by a judge.

And that is exactly what’s unfolded quietly in the background of Trump’s many other pressing legal dramas in recent weeks and months.

Though the merits of the plaintiff’s amended claims have yet to be decided,
a judge has granted the parties the right to serve Trump.

Lee Crain, a partner at Gibson Dunn, the firm representing the Buchanan plaintiffs, told Law&Crime in an email Friday:

"We anticipate filing our claims against Mr. Trump by #April12, as the Court directed in granting our motion to amend in part. Our clients look forward to seeing Mr. Trump in Court and holding him accountable for his and others’ attacks on the rights of peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square."

According to a minute entry on the federal docket in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, a joint status report is now due on #April20.

That will go toward the negotiation of deadlines for motions with Trump’s lawyers and it will determine whether Trump stays on the case.

It's hard to imagine he would be able to divorce himself from it.
Based on the original claims, the new lawsuit is expected to reflect similarly and pursue him in his personal capacity for the distress he caused.

Whether he stays on as a named defendant, with his personal presence over Lafayette Square looming so large that June, it is likely he would be asked to testify in proceedings regardless.

Through his attorneys, Trump recently told civil litigant police and U.S. lawmakers suing him over the violence of Jan. 6 that if he was forced to face them in court, it would unfairly expose his defense strategy when he faces off agains special counsel #Jack #Smith in his impending election subversion trial.

Just about everywhere he has been indicted, Trump has clung to his blanket #presidential #immunity claim to stave off proceedings.

But the pressing of that defense can only last for so long. As of Friday, there is less than a month until the #Supreme #Court meets to hear oral arguments on it.

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/the-trump-docket-a-forgotten-legal-battle-is-about-to-rear-its-ugly-head/