Flipping Your Pastor The Bird Is Not Illegal, Georgia Court Rules

FLOWERY BRANCH, GA — A man at a Gwinnett County church did not break the law when he flipped a middle finger at his pastor during a moment intended to honor teachers in the congregation.

The Supreme Court of Georgia on Monday overturned the conviction of David Justin Freeman, who had been found guilty of disorderly conduct. The court ruled that Freeman acted within his First Amendment right to free speech when he flipped the bird at the pastor and, later, ranted about public schools being evil and influenced by Satan.

According to court documents, Freeman attended a service at 12Stone Church in Flowery Branch on Aug. 3, 2014. During the service, Pastor Jason Berry asked any teachers present to stand so the congregation could recognize them and pray for them to have a successful year.

Along with about 50 teachers, Freeman stood and raised his middle finger in the air, staring angrily at the pastor. Berry, who testified he feared for his safety, dismissed the congregation soon afterward and, as people were leaving, Freeman "began yelling about sending children off to the evil public schools and having them raised by Satan," court documents say.

The church's music minister turned up the music to try to drown Freeman out, and Berry followed Freeman to speak with him in the lobby of the church, where he told him they should have had a private conversation instead of Freeman shouting in church. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

Freeman said Berry should be ashamed of himself, then left church with his family.

After a jury trial, Freeman was convicted of disorderly conduct and sentenced to 12 months probation and a $270 fine.

Georgia's Supreme Court did not agree with Freeman's argument that Georgia's law regarding disorderly conduct is too vague. But the court did rule that his actions shouldn't have been found in violation of the law because they didn't constitute a real threat.

"The alleged obscene gesture in this case was the raising of Freeman’s middle finger from the back of the church," the court said in its ruling. "However, a raised middle finger, by itself, does not, without more, amount to fighting words or a true threat."

The ruling also included a somewhat amusing dive into the history of "the bird."

"We recognize that the raising of the middle finger as a form of insult has a long, if not illustrious, history dating back to ancient Greece," the court wrote. "Like its verbal counterpart, when it is used to express contempt, anger, or protest, it is a form of expression protected by the First Amendment."

The ruling by the Supreme Court was unanimous.

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