Joke on Facebook goes all the way to the Appellate Court

'No Reasonable Officer' Would Have Arrested a Guy for a COVID-19 Joke, the 5th Circuit Says

The appeals court ruled that a Facebook post alluding to World War Z was clearly protected by the First Amendment.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Waylon Bailey, a resident of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, made a joke on Facebook that alluded to the 2013 Brad Pitt zombie movie World War Z. "RAPIDES PARISH SHERIFFS OFFICE HAVE ISSUED THE ORDER," he wrote, that "IF DEPUTIES COME INTO CONTACT WITH 'THE INFECTED,'" they should "SHOOT ON SIGHT." He added: "Lord have mercy on us all. #Covid9teen #weneedyoubradpitt."

That post went up on March 20, 2020. The Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office (RPSO) was not amused. Detective Randell Iles was immediately assigned to investigate the matter. That same day, about a dozen deputies wearing bulletproof vests descended upon Bailey's home with their guns drawn.

They ordered him to "put your hands on your fucking head" and get on his knees, handcuffed him, and arrested him for violating a state law against "terrorizing," a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

While Bailey was being handcuffed, one of the deputies elicited laughter from his colleagues by advising the perpetrator that his next Facebook post "should be not to fuck with the police." The RPSO announced the arrest on Facebook, and local news outlets reported that Bailey had been charged with terrorism.

And the pity of all of this is that it had to get to the Appellate Court.

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