Afroman Wins: Jury Rules Mocking Cops Who Raided Your Home Is Protected Speech

Defamation

from the celebrate-with-some-lemon-pound-cake dept

As we wrote just yesterday, the defamation trial brought by seven Adams County, Ohio deputies against rapper Afroman was going about as well for the officers as their original botched raid on his home. Today we can report the inevitable conclusion: the jury sided entirely with Afroman, clearing him of all liability after just hours of deliberation.

To recap briefly: deputies raided Afroman’s home in 2022 with guns drawn, found essentially nothing, filed no charges, broke his door (and his gate!), and got caught on his security cameras doing embarrassing things — including one deputy who appeared to cautiously eye a delicious-looking lemon pound cake. Afroman turned the footage into multiple viral music videos. The deputies, upset about being mocked, sued him for $3.9 million claiming defamation and emotional distress. The jury took just a few hours to say: nah.

The best part might be the closing argument from the officers’ attorney, who told the jury:

“Mr. Foreman doesn’t get to wrap himself in the American flag and say you can’t touch me, I can say what I want, no matter how untrue it is, no matter how much pain it causes people, because I have freedom of speech. He can’t do that.”

Afroman’s lawyer quickly responded that he can, in fact, do exactly that. That’s how the First Amendment works. Especially when talking about public officials. And then the jury agreed. This is especially delicious given that Afroman literally wrapped himself in the American flag for the entire trial, showing up each day in that wonderful suit.

Afroman’s own testimony summed up the whole case more concisely than any lawyer could:

“All of this is their fault, and they have the audacity to sue me.”

And through all of this, Afroman never stopped making music mocking these officers — right up to the trial. Here he is calling out Deputy Randy Walters:

And here he is set to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, reminding everyone that the proof of everything he’s saying is right there on the internet for anyone to see:

So the deputies sued because they were embarrassed by viral music videos, and, in doing so, created a three-day trial that generated a whole new wave of viral content about them, drew national media attention, and ended with a jury telling them they had no case. The Streisand Effect remains undefeated.

As Afroman’s lawyer told the jury in closing, citing NWA’s “Fuck Tha Police” and Richard Pryor’s comedy:

“I’m sorry they feel the way they do, but there’s a certain amount that you have to take as a public official, it’s part of the duties of the job. What chilling effect does that have on the world we live in? You don’t like what a public official does and you make a joke, and you’re dragged into court?”

There’s a serious point underneath all the absurdity. Public officials who raid your home for no good reason, find nothing, and break your stuff don’t get to then use the courts to punish you for talking about it. That’s the whole ballgame on the First Amendment, and the jury understood it perfectly.

Afroman summed it up outside the courtroom saying:

I didn’t win. America won. America still has freedom of speech. It’s still for the people, by the people!

Well said. And I hope the Adams County Sheriff’s Department is looking forward to Afroman’s next release.

Filed Under: 1st amendment, adams county, adams county sheriff's department, afroman, defamation, free speech