A municipal judge decided on Thursday that anti-Biden flags on a Roselle Park homeowner's fence, featuring the F-bomb, were obscene and had to be removed because they violated a borough code.
A court has chastised a New Jersey woman and ordered her to remove anti-Biden banners from her home. Attorneys claimed that the ruling is a breach of her First Amendment right to free speech, but the judge disagreed.
Judge Gary Bundy of the Roselle Park Municipal Court ordered the Willow Avenue resident to remove the profanity-filled posters within a week or face a fine of $250 per day. The property is owned by Patricia Dilascio; but her daughter, Andrea Dick, put up the banners.
New Jersey Mayor urged a woman to remove anti-Biden banners
According to Mayor Joseph Signorello, borough authorities began getting complaints about the sign on Friday, which has a portrait of Donald Trump raising both middle fingers and the words "F- Biden" below. The F-bomb appears on three of the six flags.
The homeowner was ordered to take down the signs because it violated a borough rule prohibiting people from displaying "obscene materials," according to Signorello. Although a law disallowing the exhibition of obscene items can be seen on the borough's website, the New Jersey woman denied there is one.
Signorello cited a section of the borough's law that defines "obscene" as anything that "lacks significant literary, artistic, political, or scientific significance" or unpleasantly shows sexual activity, as per NJ.com.
The signs contain obscene terms and are located near a school, according to Democrat Roselle Park Mayor Joseph Signorello III, who is running for state Senate. Dick, on the other hand, stated that the signs will not be removed because they constitute political speech protected by the First Amendment.
A code enforcement officer sent the residence with a violation notice last month for violating a statute prohibiting "any obscene material, communication, performance, or other object or item which is obscene inside the Borough." Even after getting a call from the city's Democrat mayor, Dick refused to remove the signs before the hearing, claiming First Amendment rights, The Washington Examiner reported.
The signs, she told NBC New York, are her way of expressing support for Trump, whom she believes "should have won the election." Michael Campagna, Dick's attorney, called the woman's right to display the flags "censorship."
Andrea Dick of Roselle Park refused to trust the results of the 2020 election between Trump and Joe Biden, which was determined in November and confirmed in January. Bundy ruled that the signs violated municipal regulations against public obscenity in his ruling.
Other citizens also put up anti-Biden banners
It's possible that signs like "Don't blame me, I voted for Trump, and Socialism Sucks, Biden Blows" will stay up. Dick had received a letter from Roselle Park officials on June 2 asking her to remove the banners or face a daily fine.
A citizen in Jackson, Michigan, began flying a flag with a similar obscene message. According to Northern Kentucky University law professor Ken Katkin, who told The Washington Examiner, while some courts detest parents exposing children to profanity, the non-sexual context of the f-word on the flag may preclude judges from viewing the message as obscene.
A man named Jim Greenawalt in Erie, Pennsylvania, flew a similar flag from his front porch and was permitted to keep it up owing to the freedom of expression. Greenawalt and the Munford man have no intention of taking down their flags. Greenawalt's flag, according to the aforementioned website, is allowed as long as it does not obstruct municipal services or encourage violence through hate speech.
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