It is, officially, not a crime to wear an inflatable penis costume to a protest in Alabama. We should not have needed a trial for this, and yet here we are.
As Techdirt explained last week, Renea Gamble — a 62-year-old grandmother — was arrested last October at a “No Kings” anti-Trump protest in Fairhope, Alabama for the crime of wearing a 7-foot inflatable phallus from Spirit Halloween while waving a sign reading “No Dick Tator.” Corporal Andrew Babb of the Fairhope Police Department approached Gamble, told her he was “serious as a heart attack,” before throwing her to the ground, calling for backup, and handcuffing the senior citizen for disorderly conduct or something in that vein.
The scene was captured on bodycam footage that subsequently went viral, because that’s what happens with video of multiple cops trying to stuff a giant penis into the back of a squad car. That’s what the internet is for.
Claiming she was engaged in “disorderly conduct,” the officer demanded to know how Gamble would explain the costume to his children. The answer, of course, is that they’re his kids and it’s not the rest of the world’s job to protect him from awkward conversations.
Rather than doing the smart thing and quietly pretending the whole episode never happened, Fairhope’s city attorney doubled down, slapping Gamble with additional charges including disturbing the peace and giving a false name to law enforcement. That last one stemming from Gamble obviously sarcastically telling officers her name was “Auntie Fa” after they’d already pinned her to the ground. Hey, you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take!
You also miss a hefty percentage of the obviously frivolous charges you bring, which is what happened here.
On Wednesday, Fairhope Municipal Judge Haymes Snedeker acquitted Gamble on every count — misdemeanor disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, disturbing the peace, and the false name charge. Who would have thought a closing argument that included the immortal line, “There is no constitutional right to wear a total erect penis on the side of the road,” would shrivel in the cold reality of a judicial proceeding.
And yet, even while clearing Gamble, Judge Snedeker engaged in what can only be described as judicial baby-splitting. Concluding that he didn’t believe Corporal Babb was trying to suppress Gamble’s free speech rights, Snedeker suggested there “may have been” enough probable cause for the arrest if not enough to convict.
It strains credulity to see this as anything other than an attempt to stifle her free speech rights. One suspects Judge Snedeker hoped that letting Gamble off the hook while patting the cops on the head and telling them they didn’t do anything wrong would allow everyone to walk away saving face. It took a lot of judicial hubris to think that would work.
One might even call it… cocky.
“As Alabamians, we dare to defend our rights,” [Gamble] said. “This fight is not over.”
Her attorney, David Gespass, said a countersuit accusing the Fairhope Police Department of violating Gamble’s First Amendment rights is likely.
“This is the only reasonable conclusion the judge could have drawn,” he said. “Whether or not there was probable cause, as the judge claimed there was, that’s another question for another time. I disagree with that as well.”
Maybe ixnay on the whole “Alabamians defend their rights” talk. That’s historically not been a great tagline. Still, in this case, it does seem as though Gamble has good cause to pursue the case further.
Since Gamble’s arrest, the local No Kings protests have grown to nearly 1,200 attendees. Gamble herself returned to a recent rally — masked and wearing an inflatable eggplant costume.
How will Babb explain that costume to his kids?!?
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
The post Justice For Grandmother Arrested Over ‘No Dick Tator’ Penis Costume At Trump Protest! appeared first on Above the Law.
It is, officially, not a crime to wear an inflatable penis costume to a protest in Alabama. We should not have needed a trial for this, and yet here we are.
As Techdirt explained last week, Renea Gamble — a 62-year-old grandmother — was arrested last October at a “No Kings” anti-Trump protest in Fairhope, Alabama for the crime of wearing a 7-foot inflatable phallus from Spirit Halloween while waving a sign reading “No Dick Tator.” Corporal Andrew Babb of the Fairhope Police Department approached Gamble, told her he was “serious as a heart attack,” before throwing her to the ground, calling for backup, and handcuffing the senior citizen for disorderly conduct or something in that vein.
The scene was captured on bodycam footage that subsequently went viral, because that’s what happens with video of multiple cops trying to stuff a giant penis into the back of a squad car. That’s what the internet is for.
Claiming she was engaged in “disorderly conduct,” the officer demanded to know how Gamble would explain the costume to his children. The answer, of course, is that they’re his kids and it’s not the rest of the world’s job to protect him from awkward conversations.
Rather than doing the smart thing and quietly pretending the whole episode never happened, Fairhope’s city attorney doubled down, slapping Gamble with additional charges including disturbing the peace and giving a false name to law enforcement. That last one stemming from Gamble obviously sarcastically telling officers her name was “Auntie Fa” after they’d already pinned her to the ground. Hey, you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take!
You also miss a hefty percentage of the obviously frivolous charges you bring, which is what happened here.
On Wednesday, Fairhope Municipal Judge Haymes Snedeker acquitted Gamble on every count — misdemeanor disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, disturbing the peace, and the false name charge. Who would have thought a closing argument that included the immortal line, “There is no constitutional right to wear a total erect penis on the side of the road,” would shrivel in the cold reality of a judicial proceeding.
And yet, even while clearing Gamble, Judge Snedeker engaged in what can only be described as judicial baby-splitting. Concluding that he didn’t believe Corporal Babb was trying to suppress Gamble’s free speech rights, Snedeker suggested there “may have been” enough probable cause for the arrest if not enough to convict.
It strains credulity to see this as anything other than an attempt to stifle her free speech rights. One suspects Judge Snedeker hoped that letting Gamble off the hook while patting the cops on the head and telling them they didn’t do anything wrong would allow everyone to walk away saving face. It took a lot of judicial hubris to think that would work.
One might even call it… cocky.
“As Alabamians, we dare to defend our rights,” [Gamble] said. “This fight is not over.”
Her attorney, David Gespass, said a countersuit accusing the Fairhope Police Department of violating Gamble’s First Amendment rights is likely.
“This is the only reasonable conclusion the judge could have drawn,” he said. “Whether or not there was probable cause, as the judge claimed there was, that’s another question for another time. I disagree with that as well.”
Maybe ixnay on the whole “Alabamians defend their rights” talk. That’s historically not been a great tagline. Still, in this case, it does seem as though Gamble has good cause to pursue the case further.
Since Gamble’s arrest, the local No Kings protests have grown to nearly 1,200 attendees. Gamble herself returned to a recent rally — masked and wearing an inflatable eggplant costume.
How will Babb explain that costume to his kids?!?
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
