DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man threatened by city officials with legal action for saying on a website that his hometown smelled like “rancid dog food” has won a free-speech lawsuit.
Josh Harms, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, filed suit in U.S. District Court earlier this month asking a judge to block Sibley officials from suing him.
City officials said they’d sue if he didn’t stop criticizing the odor problem from an animal food processing plant and talking with reporters about it.
On Thursday a judge approved a permanent injunction prohibiting city threats. The city agrees to pay Harms $6,500 in damages and $20,000 in legal fees.
The city promises to hold First Amendment training and will not prevent Harms from launching a website under the address www.sibleystinks.com
- Posted March 30, 2018
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Iowa man wins lawsuit over calling his hometown stinky
headlines Macomb
- Fall family fun
- MDHHS announces enhancements to improve substance use disorder treatment access
- Levin Center looks at congressional investigation of torture and mistreatment of war detainees
- State Unemployment Insurance Agency provides tips on how to stop criminals from stealing benefits
- Supreme Court leaves in place Alaska campaign disclosure rules voters approved in 2020
headlines National
- Professional success is not achieved through participation trophies
- ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
- ‘Jailbreak: Love on the Run’ misses chance to examine staff sexual misconduct at detention centers
- Utah considers allowing law grads to choose apprenticeship rather than bar exam
- Can lawyers hold doctors accountable for wasting our time?
- Lawyer suspended after arguing cocaine enhanced his cognition
