Leroy N. Soetoro
2017-11-18 21:11:29 UTC
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/11/17/a-woman-with-a-
profane-anti-trump-decal-on-her-truck-was-arrested-for-something-
else/?tid=pm_politics_pop&utm_term=.2d02f67785d5
A woman whose profane anti-Trump truck decal caught the attention of a
Texas sheriff and set off a debate about free speech was arrested
Thursday on an unrelated outstanding warrant.
Karen Fonseca, 46, had defied calls to remove or alter a F--k Trump
sticker on the back of her truck after a Houston-area sheriff said on
Facebook that it could lead to a disorderly conduct charge.
Fonseca and others defended the decal as an exercise of free speech, and
Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy E. Nehls eventually walked back his threat
and retreated from social media.
But as controversy over the decal swirled, the Fort Bend County Sheriffs
Office received a tip there was an outstanding felony warrant for fraud
for Fonseca, according to a department spokeswoman.
Fonseca was arrested Thursday, then released after posting $1,500 bond,
CBS affiliate KHOU reported.
After her release, Fonseca questioned the timing of the arrest and accused
the sheriffs office of retaliation.
Im almost certain it does have to do with [the anti-Trump sticker], she
told the news station. People abuse the badge, and in my opinion, money
talks. When youre in politics, people know how to work the system.
On Wednesday, Nehls, the Republican sheriff from Fort Bend County, posted
a photo of the truck on his personal Facebook page after he said hed
received several complaints from unhappy locals. He mentioned authorities
in his Houston-area county were considering charging its owner with
disorderly conduct.
A graphic on the rear window of the GMC Sierra reads: F--K TRUMP AND F--K
YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM. (The profanity is spelled out on the sticker.)
If you know who owns this truck or it is yours, I would like to discuss
it with you, the sheriff wrote. Our Prosecutor has informed us she would
accept Disorderly Conduct charges regarding it, but I feel we could come
to an agreement regarding a modification.
But his threat immediately raised alarm among free speech advocates and
caused the sheriff to retreat: The Facebook post was removed Thursday, and
the sheriff said he was done talking about the matter after receiving
hateful messages.
The objective of the post was to find the owner/driver of the truck and
have a conversation with them in order to prevent a potential altercation
between the truck driver and those offended by the message, the sheriffs
office said in a statement. Since the owner of the truck has been
identified, the Sheriff took down the post. Due to the hate messages he
has been receiving toward his wife and children, the Sheriff will not be
commenting on the matter further.
Hours later, news of Fonsecas arrest began to circulate, including
reports the warrant had been issued by the Rosenberg Police Department. A
police spokesman in Rosenberg told The Washington Post on Friday that the
warrant actually stemmed from a two-year-old case the department had
investigated, then handed off.
Basically the only part that we played in this is, in June of 2015, we
had a report come to us of a fraudulent use of identification, spokesman
Chad Pino said. The investigation took a little while, and we ended up
filing the case in July 2017 and sent it to the Fort Bend County district
attorneys office.
After a grand jury reviewed the case, it was the county district
attorneys office that issued the warrant for Fonseca, who is also known
as Karen Lev, Pino said.
He added the department has had no contact with the Fort Bend County
Sheriffs Office regarding the case and is not sure where the tip about
the outstanding warrant originated.
Before Fonsecas arrest, the Houston Chronicle reported she and her
husband have no plans to remove the custom graphic, which they ordered
after Trumps election.
Its not to cause hate or animosity, Fonseca told the newspaper. Its
just our freedom of speech and were exercising it.
The Chronicle reported:
Fonseca said the truck belongs to her husband but that she often drives
it. They had the sticker made and added it to the window after the
billionaire real estate magnate and reality TV star was sworn into office.
The sticker has attracted attention many times before, Fonseca said.
People shake their head. They take photos of it. Officers have pulled her
over but failed to find a reason for writing a ticket.
It makes people happy. They smile. They stop you, Fonseca told ABC
affiliate KTRK. They want to shake your hand.
The Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union offered to help
Fonseca and provided Nehls with a Constitutional Law 101 lesson: You
cant ban speech just because it has [f--k] in it.
Texas penal code describes disorderly conduct as intentionally or
knowingly [using] abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar language in a
public place, and the language by its very utterance tends to incite an
immediate breach of peace. Making an offensive gesture or display in a
public place is also prohibited if the gesture or display tends to
incite an immediate breach of peace.
But the ACLU cited a 1971 Supreme Court decision, Cohen v. California, in
which the high court overturned a mans disturbing-the-peace conviction
after hed gone to a courthouse in Los Angeles wearing a jacket that said
F--k the Draft.
Fort Bend County District Attorney John Healey said Thursday that a
prosecutor in his office had told a sheriffs deputy that she would be
willing to charge the owner of the truck. Shortly after Nehlss Facebook
post went viral, the same deputy contacted Healey to ask him whether the
owners of the vehicle could be charged with disorderly conduct for the
sticker.
Healey said they could not.
Heres the bottom line forget about freedom of speech for a minute,
said Healey, who has held the office for 25 years. The elements of the
crime of disorderly conduct are not met. That the obscene or vulgar
language depicted or uttered tends to incite an immediate breach of the
peace. I dont believe it does, nor did a select group of prosecutors in
my office who reviewed the matter.
While he said he agrees that the language of the bumper sticker is
inappropriate, especially when viewed by children, prosecutors still have
to work within the bounds of the criminal law, he said.
No matter how distasteful it may be, it should not be prosecuted, Healey
said. If people have problems with that they need to contact their
legislators and have the law changed. And the national legislators, to
have the Constitution changed.
At a news conference Wednesday, after his Facebook post went viral, Nehls
said he supports freedom of speech, according to the Associated Press.
We have not threatened anybody with arrest; we have not written any
citations, Nehls said. But I think now it would be a good time to have
meaningful dialogue with that person and express the concerns out there
regarding the language on the truck.
In Fort Bend County, southwest of Houston, Hillary Clinton won the
majority of the vote in last years presidential election, with 51 percent
vs. 45 percent for Trump.
Nehls a Republican who is considering a congressional bid, according to
the Chronicle has not responded to requests for comment.
Its not uncommon for bumper stickers to bluntly convey political
viewpoints, from messages such as Impeach Clinton during Bill Clintons
presidency to Hail to the Thief after George W. Bushs 2000 election win
over Al Gore.
While the First Amendment protects the bulk of offensive speech, there
have been several incidents in which law enforcement officials cited
drivers for the messages of their bumper stickers.
Typically, those who are cited have bumper stickers with profane language
or pictures. A man in Georgia, James Daniel Cunningham, was arrested and
fined $200 for his bumper sticker, which read, S happens. The Georgia
Supreme Court ruled in 1991 that the states law banning bumper stickers
with offensive messages wrongfully restricted the drivers right to free
speech.
A few states still have laws specifically prohibiting offensive bumper
stickers. Tennessee law, for example, states: To avoid distracting other
drivers and thereby reduce the likelihood of accidents, displaying
obscene or offensive movies, bumper stickers, window signs or other
markings on or in a motor vehicle is prohibited, punishable by a fine of
up to $50.
In 2011, Tennessee officials said theyd begin ramping up their
enforcement of bumper sticker language although there havent been many
incidents reported.
In March 2017, a man was cited for a bumper sticker depicting stick
figures having sex, which read, making my family. He filed a lawsuit
against the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, claiming the sticker
does not meet the Constitutions definition of obscenity. Days later, the
charges were dropped after police attorneys conceded that the stick-figure
display was protected by the First Amendment.
--
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party has run out of gas.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for ending the disaster of the
Obama presidency.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.
ObamaCare is a total 100% failure and no lie that can be put forth by its
supporters can dispute that.
Obama jobs, the result of ObamaCare. 12-15 working hours a week at minimum
wage, no benefits and the primary revenue stream for ObamaCare. It can't
be funded with money people don't have, yet liberals lie about how great
it is.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.
profane-anti-trump-decal-on-her-truck-was-arrested-for-something-
else/?tid=pm_politics_pop&utm_term=.2d02f67785d5
A woman whose profane anti-Trump truck decal caught the attention of a
Texas sheriff and set off a debate about free speech was arrested
Thursday on an unrelated outstanding warrant.
Karen Fonseca, 46, had defied calls to remove or alter a F--k Trump
sticker on the back of her truck after a Houston-area sheriff said on
Facebook that it could lead to a disorderly conduct charge.
Fonseca and others defended the decal as an exercise of free speech, and
Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy E. Nehls eventually walked back his threat
and retreated from social media.
But as controversy over the decal swirled, the Fort Bend County Sheriffs
Office received a tip there was an outstanding felony warrant for fraud
for Fonseca, according to a department spokeswoman.
Fonseca was arrested Thursday, then released after posting $1,500 bond,
CBS affiliate KHOU reported.
After her release, Fonseca questioned the timing of the arrest and accused
the sheriffs office of retaliation.
Im almost certain it does have to do with [the anti-Trump sticker], she
told the news station. People abuse the badge, and in my opinion, money
talks. When youre in politics, people know how to work the system.
On Wednesday, Nehls, the Republican sheriff from Fort Bend County, posted
a photo of the truck on his personal Facebook page after he said hed
received several complaints from unhappy locals. He mentioned authorities
in his Houston-area county were considering charging its owner with
disorderly conduct.
A graphic on the rear window of the GMC Sierra reads: F--K TRUMP AND F--K
YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM. (The profanity is spelled out on the sticker.)
If you know who owns this truck or it is yours, I would like to discuss
it with you, the sheriff wrote. Our Prosecutor has informed us she would
accept Disorderly Conduct charges regarding it, but I feel we could come
to an agreement regarding a modification.
But his threat immediately raised alarm among free speech advocates and
caused the sheriff to retreat: The Facebook post was removed Thursday, and
the sheriff said he was done talking about the matter after receiving
hateful messages.
The objective of the post was to find the owner/driver of the truck and
have a conversation with them in order to prevent a potential altercation
between the truck driver and those offended by the message, the sheriffs
office said in a statement. Since the owner of the truck has been
identified, the Sheriff took down the post. Due to the hate messages he
has been receiving toward his wife and children, the Sheriff will not be
commenting on the matter further.
Hours later, news of Fonsecas arrest began to circulate, including
reports the warrant had been issued by the Rosenberg Police Department. A
police spokesman in Rosenberg told The Washington Post on Friday that the
warrant actually stemmed from a two-year-old case the department had
investigated, then handed off.
Basically the only part that we played in this is, in June of 2015, we
had a report come to us of a fraudulent use of identification, spokesman
Chad Pino said. The investigation took a little while, and we ended up
filing the case in July 2017 and sent it to the Fort Bend County district
attorneys office.
After a grand jury reviewed the case, it was the county district
attorneys office that issued the warrant for Fonseca, who is also known
as Karen Lev, Pino said.
He added the department has had no contact with the Fort Bend County
Sheriffs Office regarding the case and is not sure where the tip about
the outstanding warrant originated.
Before Fonsecas arrest, the Houston Chronicle reported she and her
husband have no plans to remove the custom graphic, which they ordered
after Trumps election.
Its not to cause hate or animosity, Fonseca told the newspaper. Its
just our freedom of speech and were exercising it.
The Chronicle reported:
Fonseca said the truck belongs to her husband but that she often drives
it. They had the sticker made and added it to the window after the
billionaire real estate magnate and reality TV star was sworn into office.
The sticker has attracted attention many times before, Fonseca said.
People shake their head. They take photos of it. Officers have pulled her
over but failed to find a reason for writing a ticket.
It makes people happy. They smile. They stop you, Fonseca told ABC
affiliate KTRK. They want to shake your hand.
The Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union offered to help
Fonseca and provided Nehls with a Constitutional Law 101 lesson: You
cant ban speech just because it has [f--k] in it.
Texas penal code describes disorderly conduct as intentionally or
knowingly [using] abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar language in a
public place, and the language by its very utterance tends to incite an
immediate breach of peace. Making an offensive gesture or display in a
public place is also prohibited if the gesture or display tends to
incite an immediate breach of peace.
But the ACLU cited a 1971 Supreme Court decision, Cohen v. California, in
which the high court overturned a mans disturbing-the-peace conviction
after hed gone to a courthouse in Los Angeles wearing a jacket that said
F--k the Draft.
Fort Bend County District Attorney John Healey said Thursday that a
prosecutor in his office had told a sheriffs deputy that she would be
willing to charge the owner of the truck. Shortly after Nehlss Facebook
post went viral, the same deputy contacted Healey to ask him whether the
owners of the vehicle could be charged with disorderly conduct for the
sticker.
Healey said they could not.
Heres the bottom line forget about freedom of speech for a minute,
said Healey, who has held the office for 25 years. The elements of the
crime of disorderly conduct are not met. That the obscene or vulgar
language depicted or uttered tends to incite an immediate breach of the
peace. I dont believe it does, nor did a select group of prosecutors in
my office who reviewed the matter.
While he said he agrees that the language of the bumper sticker is
inappropriate, especially when viewed by children, prosecutors still have
to work within the bounds of the criminal law, he said.
No matter how distasteful it may be, it should not be prosecuted, Healey
said. If people have problems with that they need to contact their
legislators and have the law changed. And the national legislators, to
have the Constitution changed.
At a news conference Wednesday, after his Facebook post went viral, Nehls
said he supports freedom of speech, according to the Associated Press.
We have not threatened anybody with arrest; we have not written any
citations, Nehls said. But I think now it would be a good time to have
meaningful dialogue with that person and express the concerns out there
regarding the language on the truck.
In Fort Bend County, southwest of Houston, Hillary Clinton won the
majority of the vote in last years presidential election, with 51 percent
vs. 45 percent for Trump.
Nehls a Republican who is considering a congressional bid, according to
the Chronicle has not responded to requests for comment.
Its not uncommon for bumper stickers to bluntly convey political
viewpoints, from messages such as Impeach Clinton during Bill Clintons
presidency to Hail to the Thief after George W. Bushs 2000 election win
over Al Gore.
While the First Amendment protects the bulk of offensive speech, there
have been several incidents in which law enforcement officials cited
drivers for the messages of their bumper stickers.
Typically, those who are cited have bumper stickers with profane language
or pictures. A man in Georgia, James Daniel Cunningham, was arrested and
fined $200 for his bumper sticker, which read, S happens. The Georgia
Supreme Court ruled in 1991 that the states law banning bumper stickers
with offensive messages wrongfully restricted the drivers right to free
speech.
A few states still have laws specifically prohibiting offensive bumper
stickers. Tennessee law, for example, states: To avoid distracting other
drivers and thereby reduce the likelihood of accidents, displaying
obscene or offensive movies, bumper stickers, window signs or other
markings on or in a motor vehicle is prohibited, punishable by a fine of
up to $50.
In 2011, Tennessee officials said theyd begin ramping up their
enforcement of bumper sticker language although there havent been many
incidents reported.
In March 2017, a man was cited for a bumper sticker depicting stick
figures having sex, which read, making my family. He filed a lawsuit
against the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, claiming the sticker
does not meet the Constitutions definition of obscenity. Days later, the
charges were dropped after police attorneys conceded that the stick-figure
display was protected by the First Amendment.
--
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party has run out of gas.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for ending the disaster of the
Obama presidency.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.
ObamaCare is a total 100% failure and no lie that can be put forth by its
supporters can dispute that.
Obama jobs, the result of ObamaCare. 12-15 working hours a week at minimum
wage, no benefits and the primary revenue stream for ObamaCare. It can't
be funded with money people don't have, yet liberals lie about how great
it is.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.