A Louisiana man who was repeatedly ticketed over expletive-laden anti-Biden flags flown from his truck has been awarded $40,000 and will once again be allowed to display the flags under a settlement filed in federal court.
The agreement states that Ross Brunet was "wrongfully cited for engaging in constitutionally protected speech of flying flags with political message" by displaying flags from his truck while working as a contractor in the tiny fishing town of Grand Isle, NBC News reported.
The huge red, white and black flags say "F*** BIDEN" (without the asterisks), and also "F*** you for voting for him."
According to the Tulane First Amendment Law Clinic , which filed the lawsuit, police in Grand Isle pulled over and ticketed Brunet seven times for his "offensive" and "obscene" display. When Brunet successfully fought the first four tickets in court on the ground that his speech was not obscene, the town council passed an ordinance tailored to the purpose: banning flag-sized displays of "offensive and vulgar" words on a moving vehicle.
The clinic filed a lawsuit asserting that the First Amendment protects Brunet's right to use even rude and offensive language to express his political views. The complaint argued that "Brunet was engaged in protected speech in flying his flag with political messages" and that town officials were targeting him because of the content of his speech.
Under a settlement reached in federal court, Grand Isle agreed to repeal its ordinance by Oct. 20 and Brunet was awarded $40,000 in damages and legal fees, the Associated Press reported. Brunet is dropping his lawsuit in return.
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