Ruben Chavez, Arthur Fisher, and Joshua DeLosSantos filed a lawsuit against Wayne County, Sheriff Benny Napoleon and deputy chiefs Dennis Richardson and Mike Jaafar of the Sheriff's Office over the June 15, 2012, incident.
The three, part of the group Bible Believers, were at the Arab festival to share their faith, according to the court document. When some festival goers grew agitated with the message, they started throwing bottles and debris.
Fearing injuries, sheriff's officials asked the group, which insisted it was on public property, to leave or risk being cited for disorderly conduct.
Chavez, Fisher and DeLosSantos claimed the order violated their constitutional rights. But in his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Patrick Duggan said the police's actions were "designed to prevent disorder as the result of the exercise by plaintiffs of their constitutional rights. Officials interfered with plaintiffs' speech only after making an effort to impose order and only when they perceived imminence of further violence and feared, due to the sheer size of the festival and the number of attendees, that things would spiral out of control."
Attorneys said the men were demonstrating peacefully and left under threat of arrest.
Duggan also denied a request for a court order barring county authorities from restricting the three from displaying banners and signs on the public sidewalks outside this year's festival.
Tuesday's ruling "turns the First Amendment on its head," said Robert Muise, senior counsel with the American Freedom Law Center. "The police had an obligation and a duty to stop the violent response to the speech ... and certainly the Constitution forbids the government from threatening to arrest my clients for engaging in peaceful speech."
Attorney Nabih Ayad, who represented the officials named in the suit, said his clients acted reasonably given the situation.
This week is a tough decision. I could award this week to a lawless Benny Napoleon, however, I'm confident he will have another opportunity while running for mayor of Detoilet. I could also go with a deadbeat mooslime shyster but, deadbeat, thieving mooslimes are so common.
So, this week goes to another fossilized white dude clinging onto his power. Congratulation, Judge Patrick J. Duggan. For your flagrant violation of our U.S. Constitution, you are not only a dhimmi, you're also A$$hole Of The Week.
