Topless woman arrested near deadly rally sues Virginia city

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A woman who was arrested for exposing her breasts during August’s deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, has filed a federal lawsuit.

News outlets report Morgan Hopkins filed the suit against Charlottesville police and the arresting officers Thursday, though her indecent exposure charge was dropped. Her attorney, Jeff Fogel, says her arrest violated the equal protection clause, as men also were topless weren’t told to put their shirts on.

Fogel said Virginia’s indecent exposure statute doesn’t differentiate between men and women, and nudity alone doesn’t constitute indecent exposure. He called the arrest “demeaning.”

Hopkins said the heat caused her group to remove their shirts near the Aug. 12 rally. She says they were playing music to offer peace amid the chaos. One counter-protester was killed elsewhere that day.

The city’s attorney’s office declined comment.