A federal jury has awarded over $205,000 in damages to a Louisiana man arrested on terrorism charges for making a zombie joke on Facebook.
On March 20, 2020, with reports of businesses and institutions being closed under COVID-19 lockdown orders, 27-year-old Waylon Bailey decided to joke about it on Facebook.
“SHARE SHARE SHARE,” he wrote. “JUST IN: RAPIDES PARISH SHERIFF'S OFFICE HAVE ISSUED THE ORDER, IF DEPUTIES COME INTO CONTACT WITH ‘THE INFECTED' SHOOT ON SIGHT …. Lord have mercy on us all.”
Bailey hashtagged the post #Covic9teen and #weneedyoubradpitt, the latter being a reference to the “World War Z” zombie movie.
Everyone who saw the post recognized it was a joke and several responded in jest.
But the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Department wasn't laughing. They sent an armed SWAT team to arrest Bailey on terrorism charges, without a warrant. Deputies told a terrified Bailey the FBI was involved and even issued a press release on the arrest.
Local prosecutors, realizing the warrantless arrest and charges were baseless, quickly dropped all charges. That's when Bailey sued the department and arresting deputy, but a federal court ruled they were protected by qualified immunity and dismissed Bailey's suit.
The Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm, assisted Bailey in appealing the ruling, and now the verdict is in.
“A jury determined that Waylon Bailey's constitutional rights had been violated and ordered the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office to pay $205,000 in compensatory and punitive damages,” the IJ reports.
“Waylon's trial attorneys at Bizer & DeReus…appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. After argument by IJ, the 5th Circuit reversed the dismissal, saying Waylon's speech was protected by the First Amendment. This cleared the way for a jury to consider the case and award damages,” the IJ notes.
“I feel vindicated that the jury agreed that my post was satire and that no reasonable police officer should have arrested me for my speech,” said Bailey. “This verdict is a clear signal that the government can't just arrest someone because the officers didn't like what they said. I'd like to thank my lawyers for their hard work and determination.”
“It is telling that it took less than two hours for a jury of Mr. Bailey's peers in Western Louisiana to rule in his favor on all issues,” said Andrew Bizer, Bailey's trial attorney. “The jury clearly understood that the Facebook post was Constitutionally protected speech. The jury's award of significant damages shows that they understood how Mr. Bailey's world was turned upside down when the police wrongly branded him a terrorist. We are delighted with this result.”
“Our First Amendment rights aren't worth anything if courts won't hold the government responsible for violating them,” said IJ Attorney Ben Field. “We are proud to have played a key part in ensuring that Waylon Bailey got justice at the appellate court after he was unconstitutionally arrested for his speech. His case now stands as a warning for government officials and as a precedent that others can use to defend their rights.”
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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