Man With 4th Amendment Written on Chest Wins Trial Over Airport Arrest

[Jeebus]

A Virginia man who wrote an abbreviated version of the Fourth Amendment on his body and stripped to his shorts at an airport security screening area won a trial Friday in his lawsuit seeking $250,000 in damages for being detained on a disorderly conduct charge.

In sending the case to trial, unless there’s a settlement, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 and reversed a lower court judge and invoked Benjamin Franklin in the process. According to the opinion by Judge Roger Gregory:

Here, Mr. Tobey engaged in a silent, peaceful protest using the text of our Constitution—he was well within the ambit of First Amendment protections. And while it is tempting to hold that First Amendment rights should acquiesce to national security in this instance, our Forefather Benjamin Franklin warned against such a temptation by opining that those ‘who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.’ We take heed of his warning and are therefore unwilling to relinquish our First Amendment protections—even in an airport.

According to the suit, while under interrogation, the authorities wanted to know “about his affiliation with, or knowledge of, any terrorist organizations, if he had been asked to do what he did by any third party, and what his intentions and goals were.”

[AttackPlanR]

Good. A minor blow to our hyper-paranoid security state.

[Sprightly]

Mad respect for him.

[Grindelwald]

Good for him to fight against the inane Patriot Act Bush pushed through.

[Sprightly]

Why hasn't your president changed it, Grindelwald?

[Grindelwald]

Why don't you ask him?

[flyboy56]

Good for him to fight against the inane Patriot Act Bush pushed through.

Obama extended the Patriot Act in 2011. Just like he extended Bush's tax cuts. But we won't mention those little tid bits will we Grindelwald?

[Grindelwald]

So am I required to agree with everything Obama does? WTH is wrong with you? You all are getting on my nerves. Not kidding.

[Sprightly]

So am I required to agree with everything Obama does? WTH is wrong with you? You all are getting on my nerves. Not kidding.

I don't really care about your nerves. It would be nice if one of you would just ONCE say the words "Obama needs to undo the Patriot Act and I am upset that he hasn't." Simple.

[Grindelwald]

Well I am sorry, Sprightly, that I haven't uttered the statement you have been waiting your whole life to hear.

[CajunRaven]

Good for him to fight against the inane Patriot Act Bush pushed through.

Your guy hasn't done a thing to reign it in, in fact just the opposite.

But you just can't help yourself can you.

[Sprightly]

Well I am sorry, Sprightly, that I haven't uttered the statement you have been waiting your whole life to hear.

Just two years. And you still haven't.