LAKELAND, Tenn. (WTVF) — A federal judge in West Tennessee ruled this week that a Lakeland homeowner can't be fined for displaying a political yard sign with a full expletive indicating her frustration with the choice between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump as the Democratic and Republican party's presumptive nominees.
The sign, shown here redacted, shouts her message loud and clear: "F*** Em' Both 2024"
Hear why the Lakeland, Tennessee homeowner decided to put up the political sign in the video above.
When Julie Pereira put up the sign in her yard, some of her neighbors complained to the City of Lakeland, which sent out a codes enforcement officer who first gave her a warning for the sign, then gave her a citation for "prohibited signs and devices," telling her to remove the sign with the "cuss word."
"I've always been very expressive and that's not just in my verbal communication, but we decorate our house for every holiday," Julie said.
And Julie's not kidding: last Christmas, she set up a display from the movie National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation consisting of an inflatable RV adorned with the famous catchphrase from the film (again, redacted here), "Sh***er's Full!"
The city cited Julie for that too, but while the city eventually settled with Julie on that case, they asked a judge to decide the political sign case, eventually ruling for Julie.
Her attorney, Nashville's Daniel Horwitz, says while some words might be offensive, it doesn't necessarily make them obscene -- and that classifies them in this case as protected political speech in the United States.
Or, as he put it:
"Being able to tell politicians to (again, redacted here) f*** themselves is a sacred American right."
The judge ordered the City of Lakeland to pay up $31,000 in Julie's attorney fees, and awarded Julie a nominal $1 in damages for violating her first amendment rights.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
