DC agrees to $13M settlement with protesters arrested at 2000 World Bank, IMF meetings

DC agrees to $13M settlement over protest arrests

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia has agreed to pay more than $13 million to settle a lawsuit by protesters arrested during demonstrations nine years ago.

The preliminary agreement was announced Monday. It includes a maximum payment of $18,000 to each of 680 people who were arrested at the April 2000 protests tied to meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

According to the class-action lawsuit, protesters and bystanders were trapped on all sides by police and then arrested in a calculated attempt to disrupt days of planned protests. Many people were held for hours in harsh conditions, the plaintiffs alleged.

Earlier this month, the city settled a lawsuit with eight anti-war protesters arrested in 2002, agreeing to pay $450,000.