Truck driver sues town after being banned from flying anti-Biden flags
Luke Gentile
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A Louisiana truck driver filed a federal lawsuit against a resort town Tuesday, accusing the town of attempting to suppress his freedom of speech after they banned him from flying flags with vulgar insults targeting President Joe Biden and his supporters.
The island town of Grand Isle adopted an ordinance to prevent the driver, Ross Brunet of Cut Off, Louisiana, from flying two flags with reported slurs aimed at Biden and his voters, according to a report citing the lawsuit.
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Brunet works on the island regularly and has been known to fly at least three flags from his vehicle.
One promotes breast cancer awareness, and two bear the reported vulgarities, the report noted.
The contractor has been ticketed at least seven times for the flags, and Brunet has previously defended himself successfully against four of the tickets.
The other three cases were dropped when Grand Isle adopted an ordinance making it clear that vehicles “shall not contain language deemed offensive and vulgar nor obscene in nature and cannot contain language that describes a sex act,” according to the report.
Brunet was informed that he would be prosecuted under the ordinance, Director of the Tulane First Amendment Law Clinic Katie Schwartzmann said.
Brunet is being represented by the group, the report noted.
“Speech that is offensive, vulgar or that references a sex act is protected by the United States Constitution,” the lawsuit reads. “Indeed, core political speech is often offensive to the listener, and yet is a highly protected form of speech.”
The contractor also was subjected to unconstitutional detainment, according to the suit.
“Mr. Brunet’s speech has in fact been chilled. … He is fearful of and refrains from engaging in his protected political speech in Grand Isle, out of fear of government punishment or further retaliatory action,” it alleges.
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The lawsuit names Grand Isle’s mayor, police chief, town attorney, a magistrate judge, and the officer who issued Brunet’s citations as defendants.
The plaintiff is seeking an unspecified amount in damages and a declaration from the court that his actions fall under protected speech.