Troy E. Nehls is the sheriff in Fort Bend County, Texas. Troy here thinks that it’s illegal to have a “Fuck Trump” sticker on your truck, and called on the public to track down the owner so they could be threatened with a disorderly conduct charge.
“I have received numerous calls regarding the offensive display on this truck as it is often seen along FM 359,” he wrote on Facebook. “If you know who owns this truck or it is yours, I would like to discuss it with you. Our Prosecutor has informed us she would accept Disorderly Conduct charges regarding it, but I feel we could come to an agreement regarding a modification to it.”
The easily-offended Nehls, himself reportedly considering a run for political office, has a problem: the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the right to upset the delicate feelings of public officials like him and president Trump — even if the words are naughty.
Moroever, the truck belongs to a former employee, whose wife Karen has more words for her sweet summer sheriff, and for a cop who pulled the vehicle over in hopes of finding something to charge them with.
“It’s just our freedom of speech and we’re exercising it,” she told the Houston Chronicle.
Worse for Nehls, the local district attorney, John Healey, publicly rejected his assertion a prosecution was on the cards.
Healey, a Republican not seeking re-election next year, said he wished the sheriff’s office had contacted him earlier about the incendiary issue. He said he did not receive a call until around the same time the comments were posted. In disagreeing with his own prosecutor, Healey noted that his office lacked any information about how the public was reacting to the truck.
“I did not believe it was a prosecutable case based on the definition of disorderly conduct,” Healey said.
Shorter Texas D.A.: “Go fuck yourself, Nehls.”