A Texas sheriff is under fire for making a Facebook post about his intention to take punitive measures against a truck driver displaying a bumper sticker declaring “FUCK TRUMP AND FUCK YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM.”
On Wednesday morning, Sheriff Troy E. Nehls of Fort Bend County, Texas, posted a picture of the back of a truck asking members of the community to help him find the ‘offender.’
“I have received numerous calls regarding the offensive display on this truck as it is often seen along FM 359. If you know who owns this truck or it is yours, I would like to discuss it with you,” he said.
Nehls apparently already sought to impose punishment, adding, “Our Prosecutor has informed us she would accept Disorderly Conduct charges regarding it, but I feel we could come to an agreement regarding a modification to it.”
He also posted a picture in the comments of legal code concerning disorderly conduct, apparently attempting to justify his attempt to suppress free speech by suggesting the truck driver was instigating a breach of the peace.
The statute, Sec. 42.01, says “a person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly uses abusive, indecent, profane or vulgar language, and the language by its very utterance tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace,” or if it “makes an offensive gesture of display in a public place, and the gesture or display tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace.”
Attempting to cite this statute suggests Trump supporters could be so triggered by free speech about the president they might incite violence, a particularly hilarious notion considering the right has spent months virtue signaling about the first amendment and scolding leftists for being violent snowflakes.
And the Internet responded swiftly as thousands of commenters flowed in offering relentless trolling, thoughtful defenses of free speech, and cutting rebukes of partisan hypocrisy. The trolls were numerous:
Other commenters were straightforward and to the point, citing previous court decisions and defenses of free speech:
Still, others tackled partisan hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance:
Some commenters defended the sheriff and received immediate responses:
A couple pointed out the fact that people actually called the police because they were so offended:
The truck driver also received an offer from a lawyer and former prosecutor for free legal assistance:
The ACLU of Texas also chimed in:
Sheriff Troy E. Nehls, Constitutional Law 101: You can’t ban speech just because it has ‘f@ck’ in it.
Hey truck owner, feel free to contact the ACLU of Texas.”
https://www.facebook.com/ACLUofTexas/posts/10155740439273605
Top photo | Sheriff Troy E. Nehls via Facebook
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