Supreme Court won't block release of officers' names who attended 'Stop the Steal' rally

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to block a state court ruling that would reveal the names of Seattle police officers who were investigated for attending President Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021 “Stop the Steal” rally.

In the order, the court noted — without explanation — that it would not block the lower court’s decision against withholding the officers’ identities.

A state court had initially sided with the officers, who argued releasing their names would violate the First Amendment and expose their political beliefs. But the Washington state Supreme Court reversed that decision.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, warned that the high court’s move not to get involved at this time should not be read as condoning the lower court’s First Amendment analysis.

In his statement respecting the high court’s decision not to issue a stay of the Washington court’s ruling, Justice Alito said the officers had not yet requested relief from the lower court.

“The Court’s denial of this application, however, should not be read as an endorsement of the decision below or its interpretation of the First Amendment,” he wrote. “We have held that the First Amendment provides a measure of protection for the right to engage in anonymous political expression.”

Identified only as “John Does 1, 2, 4 and 5,” the officers asked the justices in April to halt a ruling by the Washington state Supreme Court that granted requests for public records detailing the investigations into the officers’ attendance of the rally, where Mr. Trump contested the 2020 election results.

The Seattle Police Department had probed the officers’ decisions to attend the rally after having the members self-report whether they traveled to Washington, D.C., and why.

The officers were found not to have engaged in unlawful conduct, and wanted to keep their names from being made public.

The case is John Does 1, 2, 4 and 5 vs. Seattle Police Department and Sam Sueoka, a citizen who has requested to bar the use of pseudonyms.