A federal judge last month dismissed four Fort Collins police officers from a constitutional rights lawsuit, finding the plaintiffs failed to specifically allege how each defendant wrongfully arrested them and contributed to their prosecutions.

In August 2020, Black Lives Matter protesters and participants in a “Defend the Police” rally clashed violently. Michael Piper Townley and Anna Kruger were among those arrested. They alleged the police took them into custody for their support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the officers made false statements to justify their arrests.

“Defendants engaged in concerted conduct and associated with violent far-right militia members to exact punishment on Black Lives Matter protesters,” wrote attorney E. Milo Schwab, noting the disorderly conduct charges against Townley and Kruger were eventually dismissed.

But on March 28, U.S. District Court Judge S. Kato Crews agreed with four of the officers — Ethan VanSickle, Joe Schilz, Jason Haferman and Christopher Young — that the complaint failed to show how each person initiated charges against the plaintiffs, what they allegedly fabricated or even who performed the arrests.

Although the complaint “tells a compelling story and presents a novel theory, it is devoid of sufficient factual averments to state plausible claims against these Defendants,” wrote Crews.

However, three Fort Collins officers remain as defendants: Brian Mallory, Daniel Netzel and Jared Robertson. The plaintiffs have lodged excessive force, malicious prosecution, false arrest and First Amendment claims against all three of them.

Earlier this month, the remaining defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, asking Crews to resolve the case in their favor without a trial. They did not argue the plaintiffs’ allegations lacked specificity, but instead contended they are entitled to immunity for their actions.

The case is Townley et al. v. Mallory.