Remember how crazy March 2020 was?
Covid was brand new, people were buying up all the TP, and everyone was a little worried, but the memes went wild and people were still able to joke about the virus.
Well, most people were able to joke.
Waylon Bailey of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, found out in the worst way possible that some people couldn't take a joke.
On March 20, 2020, right when things began to be locked down across the country, Bailey posted this joke on his Facebook page:
"SHARE SHARE SHARE ! ! ! !" Bailey wrote in an emoji-filled post. "JUST IN: RAPIDES PARISH SHERIFFS OFFICE HAVE ISSUED THE ORDER, IF DEPUTIES COME INTO CONTACT WITH ‘THE INFECTED' SHOOT ON SIGHT….Lord have mercy on us all. #Covid9teen #weneedyoubradpitt."
This was a clear joke and reference to the movie World War Z starring Brad Pitt.
But the Sheriff's Office in Rapides did NOT find this joke funny.
Just a few hours after this post, a literal SWAT team showed up at his door and placed him under arrest for making a terroristic threat!
The post had no threat in it. It wasn't an instruction anyone would take seriously. It wasn't even really making fun of the Sheriff's department. It was just a silly "Everyone is scared of Covid!" joke.
Without a warrant, according to court documents, they arrested Bailey and locked him up with a $1,200 bond.
Over a Facebook joke.
Fortunately for Bailey, the DA decided not to prosecute him, surely realizing he had no case and that Warren was just making a joke.
But by that time, Warren's face had been plastered all over the news, he had been destroyed in the press, and called a threat. The Sheriff's Office, according to Bailey, really messed up his life.
Bailey decided he was going to go on the offensive, taking the case to court himself by suing the department.
In September 2020, Bailey filed a lawsuit alleging Detective Randell Iles and Sheriff Mark Wood violated his First and Fourth amendment rights.
The first court ruled on the side of the cops, saying that the post could be legitimately perceived as a terrorist threat.
But justice was still coming. In the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, a judge has finally ruled in Bailey's favor, overturning the lower court's ruling.
In Friday's ruling, the appellate judges declared that Bailey's Facebook post was not a threat and did not incite violence. The reference to Pitt's fictional character was a giveaway that it was not serious, the court said.
"The post did not direct any person or group to take any unlawful action immediately or in the near future," the judges wrote. " … at worst, his post was a joke in poor taste, but it cannot be read as intentionally directed to incitement."
The sheriff is now being ruled to have violated Warren's 1st Amendment right to free speech and 4th Amendment right by arresting him with no probable cause.
I'm a back-the-blue kind of guy, and it honestly helps the police's credibility when jokers like this officer are punished for pushing the envelope.
"It's a great victory for Waylon and for the Constitution," Field said. "It clearly lays out that police have to respect First Amendment rights online, and that they can't wantonly arrest people who make jokes about them."
Honestly, I am shocked that WaPo is writing this pro-First Amendment piece. But I am glad to see it.
Bailey isn't sure his life will return to normal, but said he hopes he will no longer fear his hometown's sheriff's office. He's still seeking money for damages and attorney's fees and an apology from the sheriff's office.
In my non-legal opinion, he deserves every cent from that department and a public apology from everyone involved.
Hopefully, this puts a fear into other vindictive sheriffs and police departments.
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
