By Associated Press - Monday, March 31, 2014

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A reporter has filed a federal lawsuit alleging Capitol Police officers violated the U.S. Constitution when they arrested him during a protest.

Philip Dominic Salvia co-hosts The Devil’s Advocates talk show. According to the lawsuit he filed Monday, he was in the Capitol rotunda on July 24 when police began arresting demonstrators who had been using the space to sing against Gov. Scott Walker.

The lawsuit said officers arrested him even though he was merely observing the protest as a journalist violating the First Amendment’s freedom of speech guarantee.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. A judge dismissed Salvia’s $200 ticket in August but he says police still need to be held accountable.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Administration, which oversees the Capitol Police, declined to comment.

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