The incident occurred several months after the Secret Service's pledge in "ACORN v. Secret Service" not to discriminate against protesters. "The charges against the Ranks were ultimately dismissed in court and the mayor and city council publicly apologized for the arrest. City officials also said that local law enforcement was acting at the request of Secret Service." ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Chris Hansen pointed out that "The Secret Service has promised to not curtail the right to dissent at presidential appearances, and yet we are still hearing stories of people being blocked from engaging in lawful protest", said Hansen. "It is time for the Secret Service to stop making empty promises." The Ranks subsequently filed a lawsuit, "Rank v. Jenkins", against Deputy Assistant to the President Gregory Jenkins and the Secret Service. "The lawsuit, "Rank v. Jenkins", is seeking unspecified damages as well as a declaration that the actions leading to the removal of the Ranks from the Capitol grounds were unconstitutional." In August 2007, the Ranks settled their lawsuit against the Federal Government. The government paid them $80,000, but made no admission of wrongdoing. The Ranks' case against Gregory Jenkins is still pending in the District of Columbia.