A man living in Olyphant Borough, Pennsylvania, is suing the local officials for infringing his First Amendment right. He erected a sign on the front of his home that read, “F— the Government.” Olyphant Borough officials consider the sign to be illegal, but the man believes it’s the officials who are allegedly infringing on his First Amendment right.
According to the homeowner’s attorney, Dave Bliler is a Marine veteran who understands the importance of expressing criticism of the government. He said that soldiers have died to protect their rights, which is one of the vital American values.
Bliler and his family have been unhappy and frustrated with the local government officials over the years. Finally, they wanted to air their grievances and publicly criticize the officials. So, they erected a four-by-eight-foot sign in front of their property that read, “F— the Government.”
However, the borough officials weren’t pleased with his sign. They sent a notice to Dave Bliler and his family to let them know that they were violating the borough’s sign ordinance. The officials told the Blilers that they could take them to court and find them $500 daily if they refused to take down the sign.
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On the other hand, the Bliler family claims that the local government is targeting them. They say that there are other people within the neighborhood who have signs on their properties without permits. According to the borough’s policy, residents are permitted to have only one sign on their property.
Permitted signs must be over six square feet, and only the borough can approve signs. “That’s a large political sign for a candidate or party or a religious sign — those would all be unlawful under this ordinance, and that’s a violation of the First Amendment,” attorney Eric Sell with the Center for American Liberty, which represents the Bliler family, said.
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More so, the borough requires residents to pay $40 to erect the sign. Residents must also wait for a period for the officials to review and approve the signed permit. Residents must go through the process, but the borough isn’t subject to the ordinance and can post unlimited signs.
According to Sell, the Bliler family is suing the borough because they believe the official ordinance violates their freedom of speech. The Center for American Liberty told the press that government officials must be held accountable. They said that the officials can’t choose to restrict speech because they criticize the government.
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Furthermore, Sell said the lawsuit was filed last Tuesday in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He added that the borough officials had not responded to the suit as of Wednesday afternoon. However, the Bliler family has taken down the sign.
“This ordinance is very legally significant because it completely exempts the borough from the ordinance,” Sell said. “They can put any sign they want up, it can be on any topic they want, they can put as many of them as they want up. They can be on political issues, on any kind of ideological issues, yet they’re limiting residents from putting up signs on their own private property. It’s very, very concerning that a government would do this.”
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