A Florida man was arrested for displaying an obscene bumper sticker on the back of his truck, one that either expressed his sexual preferences, or his love for a four-legged animal.
After Dillon Shane Webb was told the sticker was “derogatory,” he claimed his freedom of expression was violated, and the deputy’s office asked if he was using his free speech to express his desire of “eating a donkey.”
Keep reading to learn why Webb was arrested over a bumper sticker!
In 2019, a Columbia County sheriff’s deputy was driving behind a pickup truck when he noticed a vulgar sticker plastered on the middle of the rear window.
Dashcam footage shows Deputy Travis English stopping his cruiser in a parking lot behind the brown pickup, operated by Dillon Shane Webb, 23, with the bumper sticker in clear view.
The letters on the sticker – printed in bold white – reads, “I EAT A**.”
In the video, the deputy approaches the passenger side of the truck and after saying, “hello gentleman,” he explains that he pulled the car over due to “the derogatory sticker” displayed on the back of his truck.
In Florida, law prohibits “any sticker, decal emblem or other device attached to a motor vehicle containing obscene descriptions, photographs or depictions.”
“How’s it derogatory?” Webb asks from inside the car.
The officer replies, “How’s it not derogatory?”
“Some 10-year-old kid sitting in the passenger seat of his momma’s vehicle looks over and sees ‘I eat a**’ and asks his mom what it means,” English says. “How is she going to explain that?”
Sniping back, the driver provides the wrong answer: “That’s the parent’s job, not my job,” Webb says before he’s asked to present his driver’s license and registration.
After stepping out of the vehicle, Webb is searched, and the deputy tells him the sticker is a “misdemeanor violation of Florida’s obscene materials law.”
“I have four kids…if my 6-year-old was to look at me and like, ‘dad what does I eat a** mean?…he’s curious…and the way [you] handled this situation, I’m not pleased with,” English said before offering Webb the opportunity to explain his sticker to the court system.
Next, the deputy suggests Webb remove one of the letters from the word “A**” to read “AS.” But Webb refused, citing his constitutional right to free speech.
A few minutes later, things take a nasty turn for Webb.
After confirming with his supervisor that he had reasonable rights within the law, English steps out of his cruiser and approaches Webb, who’s leaning against his car, looking at his cellphone.
“All right Mr. Webb. Place your hands behind your back,” Webb is told. When he asks “why?” he learns “because you’re going to jail.”
Asking “for what?” English explains that he was given “the option to take that off” the window, but he “refused.”
He was then arrested and charged with the additional offense of “resisting an officer without violence.”
‘Perverted mind’
“They’re just words,” Webb later told First Coast News. “If that’s how they feel, if they have a perverted mind, that’s on them.”
But according to Sergeant Murray Smith of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, it wasn’t just the words on the sticker that Deputy English determined was illegal.
“It was the obscene phrase depicting what the deputy thought was a sexual act, which is obscene by definition,” said Smith. “What would a reasonable citizen think? Is the guy eating a donkey or is he doing a sexual act?”
The incident captured the attention of a lot of social media users, the majority who defended Webb.
“So what if he eats donkey. What’s the big deal?” asks one netizen. Another, referring to English speaking of his child’s potential reaction to the sticker, says, “Since when are a cop’s feelings deserving of an arrest?”
“I live here and as soon as we heard he got arrested we all went and got the sticker and put it on [our] trucks,” pens a third.
Another adds, “He better keep his kids off the internet. They will see far worse than this.”
The State Attorney’s Office cited the First Amendment and the charges against Webb were dropped. Later, Webb sued for alleged violations of his First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights, but U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard of the Middle District of Florida ruled that the arrest was “arguably justified under Florida’s obscenity law,” giving the officer and his supervisor “qualified immunity,” which means they are protected from the lawsuit.
This case underscores the ongoing debate in the U.S. over free speech and its boundaries, especially around expressions some might find offensive or derogatory. It also reflects how the First Amendment remains a contentious issue, with some insisting their right to free expression is under threat, while others argue for consideration that certain messages will have on the population.
What are your thoughts on this story? Please share your thoughts with us and then share it with your friends so we can get the conversation going!
Man Is So Moved By Viral Video Of Dog Being Dumped That He Goes Looking And Saves Him
Thanks to a man who saw a video of the incident that went viral, a dog who was shockingly dumped by the side of the road has a happy ending. A bicyclist in Itabira, Brazil, saw someone in a vehicle leave a small brown and white dog by the roadside a few weeks ago.
Because she couldn’t take the dog with her, the girl who filmed it went home to get her car, but when she returned to the scene, she couldn’t find the dog. She looked for several days in the area but came up empty-handed. She then shared the video on social media with the caption, “I can’t stop thinking about the dog.” “I’m not sure if he’s all right.”
Many people agreed with her, including a man who lived near where the dog was abandoned. He was moved by the dog’s plight and went in search of him. The Good Samaritan searched for the lost dog for two days straight!
Despite the fact that he was contacted by Defato Online, the Good Samaritan preferred to remain anonymous about his good deed. A video shared on WhatsApp, on the other hand, shows the happy rescued dog playing with a family in what appears to be a backyard.
“So people, this here is the dog we rescued that is causing a lot of controversy here in Itabira,” the narrator says in the video. We were moved by the story and decided to pursue him. He’s now being looked after. He’s here with us, with food and everything he requires.” With the exception of a name, that is.
People are now being asked to help the family name the dog, according to the news outlet. Is Pietro, Einstein, or Xerebebeu the best choice? According to polls, the name ‘Pietro’ is the most popular.
Thanks to the witness and the man who refused to give up on the dog, what began as a sad story now has a happy ending. Share this touching dog rescue story with your friends and family!
Mom In Tears After The Shelter Dog She Just Adopted Shows How Grateful He Is On The Way Home
Dogs enjoy being adopted! Mother Nature is to blame because nobody wants to live without friends or family. In the aforementioned video, the dog thanks his savior.
The adopted puppy made the decision to show his new mother how much he appreciated her while he was in the passenger seat.
His response was wonderful as he pressed his face against the woman’s arm. The mom started crying after that, and the puppy tried to comfort her.
Watch the video down below.
Please let your loved ones and friends know about this.
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