Charges have been dropped against a Florida man who claimed his rights were violated after he was arrested last week for sporting an "I Eat Ass" sticker on his truck.
In a May 9 letter to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Assistant State Attorney John Foster Durrett stated that all charges against 23-year-old Dillon Shane Webb have been dropped, and that his "I Eat Ass" sticker is in fact protected by the First Amendment.
"Having evaluated the evidence through the prism of Supreme Court precedent it is determined the Defendant has a valid defense to be raised under the First Amendment of our United States Constitution. Given such, a jury would not convict under these facts," said Durrett in the letter.
Not the specific "I Eat Ass" sticker, but one nonetheless." width="660" height="370" />
Last Sunday, May 5, Webb was pulled over on Highway 90 after an officer with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office spotted his "I Eat Ass" sticker on the back of his Chevrolet truck. According to the Lake City Reporter, the deputy claimed the sticker violated Florida Statute 847.011, which deals with possession and distribution of obscene material. The officer then instructed Webb to remove one of the letters from the "I Eat Ass" sticker, to which he refused, and was promptly arrested for resisting without violence and possession of obscene materials.
Webb was later released on a $2,500 bond.
An attorney for Webb told Anne Shindler of First Coast News that a lawsuit against the Columbia County Sheriff's Office is now likely.
"Now we transition from defense to offense," said the attorney. "The First Amendment was our defense. What is Sheriff Hunter's defense? We will find out!"
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