ACLU Defends Man Told to Take Down Donald Trump Flags

West Long Branch, NJ - The New Jersey American Civil Liberties Union is stepping up to defend a Donald Trump supporter who was told he can't fly Trump flags on his property in West Long Branch.

The ACLU of New Jersey and Eric D. Sherman, a partner with New York-based law firm Pryor Cashman, have teamed up to defend the rights of West Long Branch resident Joseph Hornick. As Patch previously reported, Hornick was ticketed by the town, because he violated a town ordinance that says you cannot display political signs 30 days prior to an election.

Hornick flies two large blue "Make America Great Again" signs outside his home. He told Patch he refuses to take them down, and will pay any fine or do jail time, saying he has a Constitutional right to fly a flag.

Turns out, the ACLU agrees. On Thursday, the ACLU called West Long Branch's town law unconstitutional.

“There’s no ordinance that can overrule the Constitution,” said ACLU-NJ Deputy Legal Director Jeanne LoCicero. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a lawn sign or a flag – you have the right to express your political beliefs every day of the year, no matter how close it is to Election Day. West Long Branch needs to realize that unless it takes this policy off the books, it’s violating the Constitution.”

Hornick is currently facing a $100 fine because he refuses to take the flags down. He was ticketed by town police March 25 and has a municipal court appearance that is now scheduled for May 18. Sherman will be his attorney.

“Joe Hornick has every right to fly his Trump flags, and West Long Branch has every responsibility to let him,” said Sherman. “We should not let stand those laws that restrict free speech, especially political speech in an election year. Such laws violate the Constitution and offend our notions of what it means to be an American.”

The ACLU-NJ has successfully challenged restrictions on the timing of political signs in the past, including through the representation of a Ron Paul supporter who was prohibited from displaying his sign by the Borough of Hawthorne, in Bergen County, in 2008.

“I am a proud, passionate Donald Trump supporter, and I would be willing to pay any fine in exchange for my free speech, or even serve jail time if it comes to that – but as an American, I shouldn’t have to pay that kind of price for expressing my beliefs,” said Hornick, a former West Long Branch firefighter. “My Trump flags are not coming down. And now, I’m even more determined to keep them flying."

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Photo: Joe Hornick's house in West Long Branch, in this photo he provided to Patch. The Trump flags are at right.