The scene was captured on bodycam footage that subsequently went viral, because that\u2019s what happens with video of multiple cops trying to stuff a giant penis into the back of a squad car. That\u2019s what the internet is for.<\/p>\n
Claiming she was engaged in \u201cdisorderly conduct,\u201d the officer demanded to know how Gamble would explain the costume to his children. The answer, of course, is that they\u2019re his kids and it\u2019s not the rest of the world\u2019s job to protect him from awkward conversations.<\/p>\n Rather than doing the smart thing and quietly pretending the whole episode never happened, Fairhope\u2019s 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 \u201cAuntie Fa\u201d after they\u2019d already pinned her to the ground. Hey, you miss 100 percent of the shots you don\u2019t take!<\/p>\n You also miss a hefty percentage of the obviously frivolous charges you bring, which is what happened here<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Fairhope Municipal Judge Haymes Snedeker acquitted Gamble on every count \u2014 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, \u201cThere is no constitutional right to wear a total erect penis on the side of the road,\u201d would shrivel in the cold reality of a judicial proceeding.<\/p>\n And yet, even while clearing Gamble, Judge Snedeker engaged in what can only be described as judicial baby-splitting. Concluding that he didn\u2019t believe Corporal Babb was trying to suppress Gamble\u2019s free speech rights, Snedeker suggested there \u201cmay have been\u201d enough probable cause for the arrest if not enough to convict.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t do anything wrong would allow everyone to walk away saving face. It took a lot of judicial hubris to think that would work.<\/p>\n One might even call it\u2026 cocky.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Alabamians, we dare to defend our rights,\u201d [Gamble] said. \u201cThis fight is not over.\u201d<\/p>\n Her attorney, David Gespass, said a countersuit accusing the Fairhope Police Department of\u00a0violating Gamble\u2019s First Amendment rights<\/a>\u00a0is likely.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the only reasonable conclusion the judge could have drawn,\u201d he said. \u201cWhether or not there was probable cause, as the judge claimed there was, that\u2019s another question for another time. I disagree with that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Maybe ixnay on the whole \u201cAlabamians defend their rights\u201d talk. That\u2019s historically not been a great tagline. Still, in this case, it does seem as though Gamble has good cause to pursue the case further.<\/p>\n Since Gamble\u2019s arrest, the local No Kings protests have grown to nearly 1,200 attendees<\/a>. Gamble herself returned to a recent rally \u2014 masked and wearing an inflatable eggplant costume.<\/p>\n How will Babb explain that costume to his kids?!?<\/p>\n Earlier:<\/strong> Prosecutors Still Trying To Convict 62-Year-Old Woman For Wearing Penis Costume To Anti-Trump Protest<\/a><\/p>\n The post Justice For Grandmother Arrested Over \u2018No Dick Tator\u2019 Penis Costume At Trump Protest!<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n\n
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Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/GettyImages-1148673757-300x300.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
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