The owner of a truck baring a giant decal proclaiming “F— TRUMP” was arrested on fraud charges in Texas Thursday.
The truck first gained attention Wednesday when Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls – a Republican who is weighing a bid for Congress – posted a since-deleted message to Facebook threatening to bring disorderly conduct charges against the truck’s owner. Nehls said that he had received numerous calls, texts, and emails from people who took offense to the decal, which also read, “AND F— YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM” in bold white lettering.
Of course, many on the left ironically jumped to the defense of the truck’s owner, including the ACLU of Texas, who encouraged the owner of the truck to contact them in case of legal action:
.@SheriffTNehls, you can’t prosecute speech just because it has the word “f*ck” in it. (And the owner of the truck should feel free to contact @ACLUTx.) #ConstitutionalLaw101 #FreeSpeech pic.twitter.com/WPWUW5fFwo
— ACLU of Texas (@ACLUTx) November 15, 2017
I highly doubt the ACLU would be so quick to offer their services if the truck said “F— HILLARY” instead.
But not to worry – karma worked this one out for Sheriff Nehls. The truck’s owner, Karen Fonseca, was arrested Thursday for a previous outstanding warrant. She’s since been released on bond.
Even more ironically, Fonseca says that she used to work for Nehls at the county jail. She also claims that the decal, which is on her husband’s truck, is “not meant to cause hate or animosity.”
She could’ve fooled me.
Fonseca and her husband might have the right under the First Amendment to tell half the country to go f— themselves, but that doesn’t mean they should do it. Furthermore, under Texas state law, disorderly conduct is described as intentionally using “abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar language in a public place, and the language by its very utterance tends to incite an immediate breach of peace.” It also prohibits making “an offensive gesture or display in a public place” that could have the same effect.
I would certainly argue that Fonseca’s decal could fall under that umbrella, wouldn’t you?
Share this if you stand with Sheriff Nehls and think Fonseca should be prosecuted for disorderly conduct!
