PLYMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - With the help of the ACLU of Massachusetts, a Donald Trump supporter from Plymouth won a battle to protect his right to freedom speech after town officials ordered him to take down anti-President Joe Biden lawn signs.
“We were getting complaint calls from quite a few residents. It wasn’t just one or two phone calls,” Plymouth Town Manager Melissa Arrighi said.
People living near Joe Casieri were upset and offended by signs that read, “Biden is not my president,” in addition to other displays featuring guns and profanity.
Casieri and three other residents were subsequently warned that they were subject to daily fines of $300 for having election signs up too long and for displaying profanity near public property.
“The few people that don’t like come by, scream and yell, and say nasty things,” Casieri told 7NEWS.
While Casieri acknowledged that the residents have a right to complain, he said that he too is entitled to freedom of speech.
“There’s a core group of people that don’t like you to have an opinion, only theirs,” Casieri said.
The three other cited homeowners took down their signs, but Casieri called the ACLU, which was glad to take up his cause.
“Our mission is to protect free speech and we attempt to do that across the political spectrum,” said Ruth A. Bourquin, senior managing attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts.
The town then backed down after a sternly worded letter from the ACLU and told Casieri that he could put his signs back up.
“We are going try and continue to work with some of these homeowners,” Arrighi vowed. “I think that they can express their opinions and maybe do so in a way that isn’t quite offensive.
Casieri added that everybody has the right to freedom of speech, “whether it’s left, right, or middle.”
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