VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) — A protester in south Georgia has been arrested because a sheriff says she was displaying an obscene sign.
Thirty-one-year-old Sydney Caitlin Smith was arrested Thursday by Lowndes County sheriff’s deputies.
Smith was attending a protest sparked by the death of George Floyd.
Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk said Smith is charged with violating a state law that forbids displaying obscenity where children 14 or younger can see it. Smith is free on bail.
Witnesses tell WALB-TV that Smith’s sign criticized Paulk and President Donald Trump.
A University of Georgia law professor says a 1971 U.S. Supreme Court case found profanity can’t be banned when it’s part of a political message.
