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Suit of University Student Against Virginia ABC Goes to Trial Next Year

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - A lawsuit filed by a University of Virginia student against the state liquor agents involved in his bloody and highly scrutinized arrest will be taken up in a jury trial next fall.

Multiple media outlets report that a Charlottesville federal judge ordered Tuesday that a jury would hear the lawsuit by Martese Johnson against the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control on Oct. 3.

ABC agents say Johnson, who is black, was attempting to enter a bar with a fake ID when he was arrested last March.

Video of Johnson being pinned to the sidewalk by ABC agents was widely distributed on social media.

Johnson filed the complaint in October, seeking $3 million in damages. He says his ID was valid and he wasn't intoxicated during the bloody altercation.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.