A number of Seattle police officers who attended President Donald Trump's Stop the Steal rally four years ago have sued in an effort to keep their names from being released to the public.

However, Washington's Supreme Court ruled last week that their participation in the January 6, 2021 event can be revealed. 

Justices: Officers "attended a public event"

According to The Seattle Times, justices unanimously ruled that the officers, who have not been convicted of any crimes, cannot claim an exception to the state’s Public Records Act.

"We conclude they have not met that burden because they have not shown they have a privacy right in public records about their attendance at a highly public event," Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis said in writing for the majority.

"The right to privacy is reserved for 'personal information' of a sort that its release would be considered 'highly offensive' — not the fact that someone attended a public event along with tens of thousands of others," she declared.

"Further, off-duty acts of a police officer can be disclosable if their actions 'bear upon (their) fitness to perform public duty' because 'privacy considerations are overwhelmed by public accountability,'" Montoya-Lewis insisted.

What's more, the justices rejected the officers' claim of having a right to keep their personal political opinions hidden from the public.

Court divided over whether officers can use pseudonyms

"While political beliefs may be closely and personally held in general, these public employees made the choice to attend a highly publicized political event in public," the majority insisted.

However, the state Supreme Court was less united when it came to the question of whether or not the officers may continue using the pseudonyms John and Jane Doe.

While a majority of the justices further concluded that any further pleadings from the officers must be made under their legal names, that findings was not unanimous.

The WA Supreme Court has ruled on identifying Seattle police officers who attended the Jan. 6, 2021, rally.https://t.co/Ch1xwlpEVv

— The Seattle Times (@seattletimes) February 13, 2025

The Times noted how Chief Justice Debra Stephens and Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud dissented on the issue, arguing that continued use of pseudonyms would be permissible.

Washington attorney welcomes ruling

Thursday's ruling was welcomed by Washington attorney Sam Sueoka, who has been fighting to make the officers' identities public.

"At this time in history in particular, with growing efforts to prevent the public from learning information about our government, we are very pleased with today’s Supreme Court decision," he said in a statement provided by his attorney, Neil Fox.

"We look forward to obtaining the full records about the investigation into the attendance of Seattle Police Department officers at portions of Stop the Steal," the statement added.