A Washington, D.C., woman has accused two Idaho National Guard members of injuring and unnecessarily detaining her in a tort claim filed against the federal government.

Tort claims are formal notices to government bodies alleging damages caused by government entities or employees. They are required predecessors to lawsuits against the government. The federal government has six months to accept or deny a claim, after which the claimant can sue.

Anna King, a retired U.S. Army captain and Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient, filed the claim Tuesday for $3 million in personal injury damages for a May 8 incident. It was filed with the Department of Defense and the Idaho National Guard.

“National Guard troops should be helping Americans during true emergencies, not violently attacking a decorated combat veteran at her home in the nation’s capital,” said Michael Perloff, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia, which is representing King. “These troops should be held accountable for their blatant disregard for Ms. King’s rights.”

An Idaho National Guard spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

“As a trained combat veteran, I never imagined that armed National Guard members would attack, injure, and traumatize me at my home. We are not at war with Americans, and my porch is not a war zone,” King said in an ACLU press release. “The troops who attacked me need to be held accountable, and every one of the thousands of armed National Guard members who continue to patrol our streets, our grocery stores, our Metro stations need to leave immediately before they hurt anyone else.”

Tort claim: Idaho Guard members injured D.C. veteran

King’s claim said she was sitting on her porch in Washington, D.C., when three National Guard members came onto the property and told her she was being detained, but failed to tell her why.

Video of the encounter shows King telling the Guard members to get away from her as she tries to move toward stairs to her apartment. The Guard members block her before two of them, later identified as members of the Idaho National Guard, push her to the ground.

King, who was face-first on the ground, can be heard in the video yelling, “My arm! Get off of me!” as the men handcuff her. One of the Guard members continued holding King on the ground after she was handcuffed.

King’s claim said one of the Guard members “squatted on top of (her), holding onto the handcuffs, for about eight minutes, keeping her immobilized, her face against the concrete.” The claim said she repeatedly complained of pain in her shoulder and from too-tight plastic handcuffs as additional National Guard members came to the scene.

King’s claim also said no one responded when she asked why she was being detained.

The ACLU said King has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump’s mobilization of the National Guard to the capital city and has displayed signs on her patio bearing messages like “Occupation: Troops Out” and “National Guard Stop Being So Embarrassing.”

The tort claim said Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived at the scene about 15 minutes after King was detained and moved her into a seated position. One officer attempted to remove the plastic handcuffs used by the National Guard members, the claim said, but was unable to slip scissors under the handcuffs because of how tightly they were put on.

“All told, the cuffs had been digging into her wrists and cutting off circulation for about 17 minutes, leaving deep grooves and bruises on her arm,” the claim said.

The police officers urged the National Guard members to remove the plastic cuffs and replaced them with looser metal handcuffs, the tort claim said.

King accused of assault, charged with misdemeanors

While King was detained, a police officer told one of her neighbors at the scene that King was suspected of assaulting a National Guard member, the claim said. No criminal charges have been filed against King for the alleged incident, which is described in separate court documents for misdemeanor charges filed against her for alleged assault on the National Guard members during the May 8 detention.

The court documents said a National Guard sergeant at King’s apartment told police officers he “had prior knowledge of an assault against three National Guard members” in which King was the suspect. That alleged assault occurred two days prior and involved “an unknown liquid” thrown on the Guard members.

The sergeant told police when he and another Guard member tried to detain King, she “actively resisted,” the court document said. King is accused of punching the sergeant in the chest/shoulder area and kicking the other man in the groin area, inflicting “minor pain.”

King is charged with two misdemeanor counts of assault on a police officer.

Arrest allegedly caused serious injuries

King’s tort claim said the Idaho National Guard members’ “needlessly rough treatment” during her detainment left her with serious injuries.

The tight plastic handcuffs caused numbness in her dominant hand that persisted for weeks, documents said, and tests showed that the handcuffs ruptured at least one ligament in her wrist. King had surgery for the injury and is still in a cast with numbness persisting in her thumb.

“Everyday tasks, including showering and using the bathroom, remain a struggle,” the tort claim said. “Ms. King is unable to ride her bike or scooter and has difficulty writing or typing. She is also unable to paint, an important source of comfort and emotional well-being in Ms. King’s life.”

The arrest also allegedly injured her shoulder, chest and leg, including back spasms where one of the Guard members pressed his knee, caused “badly bruised” ribs, a cut on King’s chin and a swollen ankle, according to the claim.

King’s claim said the arrest also reactivated post-traumatic stress disorder from her deployments to Iraq, prompting difficulty sleeping and eating.

“She feels anxious, most especially around uniformed National Guard members, who continue to have a sizable presence throughout the District,” the claim said. “On at least one occasion, the mere sight of National Guardsmen has made her vomit.”

It was not immediately clear why the Idaho National Guard members were in Washington, D.C., at the time, or whether Idaho troops remain in the area. In March, Trump issued an executive order establishing the “D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force,” which Idaho National Guard members assisted in enforcing, according to video from the D.C. Air National Guard.

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