Profane language may not be your cup of tea, but courts have widely held that swearing is protected under the First Amendment.
Yet that didn't stop Fairfax County Police from brutally arresting Mike Stark, a reporter for the website Shareblue, after the reporter exchanged rude words with the police.
Six officers were called to arrest the reporter who grumbled after being ordered out of the street by the police while covering Virginia's Republican gubernatorial candidate, Ed Gillespie. Stark was physically forced down and pinned to the ground by multiple officers — all because he swore twice in front of the police.
The arrest of Mike Stark was a vicious and unacceptable police reaction to Constitutionally-protected speech — and it cannot be allowed to stand.
That's why we are calling on Fairfax County Police to immediately drop all charges against Stark and investigate the police involved for this unnecessary show of force. The more public pressure we can bring to bear, the more likely charges will be dropped and police departments across the country will think twice before violating First Amendment rights.
Take a stand for your Constitutional right to free speech and against police abuse. Please sign the petition now.
