Crime & Safety
Judge Rules Man Arrested for Writing F-Bomb on Speeding Ticket Used 'Free Speech'
A NY judge said the Bethel man's First Amendment rights were violated when he was arrested for harassment for writing profanity on form.
A White Plains federal judge has ruled in favor of a Bethel man who wrote profanity on a speeding ticket he got in the New York village of Liberty, according to Pix 11 News.
Willian Barboza, 22, of Bethel, was arrested for harassment for writing “Fu*k your shi**y town bitc*es” on the payment form. The New York Civil Liberties Union came to Barboza’s defense and filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on his behalf after the village refused to take his payment for a speeding ticket that he defaced with curse words.
Judge Cathy Seibel said Barboza had the right to curse the government under the First Amendment. Charges against him were dismissed.
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