I was unfamiliar with the story of rapper Afroman (Joseph Freeman) and the case that put his free speech rights in issue. Jonathan Turley flagged the case exactly three years ago in “Police Officers Sue ‘Afroman’ for the Use of Their Images from Raid on his Home.”
Now the verdict is in. The jury has spoken. Professor Turley returns to tell the rest of the story in “‘Will You Help Me Repair My Door?’: Rapper Afroman Wins Major Free Speech Verdict.”
Professor Turley relates a few highlights:
Foreman attacked Adams County Deputy Sheriff Lisa Phillips in an expletive-laden music clip posted on Instagram just hours after she gave tearful testimony in court: “Where was these tears when she was standing in my yard with a loaded AR-15 ready to Swiss cheese me?”
Foreman was equally unapologetic on the stand: “All of this is their fault, If they hadn’t wrongly raided my house, there would be no lawsuit, I would not know their names, they wouldn’t be on my home surveillance system and there would be no songs.”
Afroman tells the story his way in the stinging hit song “Lemon Pound Cake.” As someone almost said, laughing well is the best revenge.
