Man Files First Amendment Violation Suit Against Colorado Officers

Sexton was watching officers distribute speeding tickets in the city's downtown area on January 30, 2019, when he began filming and yelling obscenities and insults at officers, including "F*** the police."

August 5, 2020

A man filed a lawsuit last week that accuses police officers in Colorado Springs, Colorado, of wrongfully arresting him after he said "f*** the police" in early 2019.

The arrest was a violation of plaintiff Michael Sexton's First Amendment rights, the lawsuit alleges.

Sexton was watching officers distribute speeding tickets in the city's downtown area on January 30, 2019, when he began filming and yelling obscenities and insults at officers, including "F*** the police." The incident was posted on YouTube.

The lawsuit begins with a mention of Cohen v. California, a 1971 U.S. Supreme Court decision that said a jacket displaying the phrase "F*** the draft" was protected as free speech under the First Amendment.

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