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A man charged with terrorism after posting an alleged COVID-19 joke on Facebook near the start of the pandemic is fighting back with a lawsuit accusing sheriff’s deputies of making a false arrest.
Rapides Parish, Louisiana, sheriff’s deputies arrested Waylon Bailey, 27, after he allegedly posted “SHARE SHARE SHARE ! ! ! ! JUST IN: RAPIDES PARISH SHERIFFS OFFICE HAVE ISSUED THE ORDER, IF DEPUTIES COME INTO CONTACT WITH ‘THE INFECTED’ SHOOT ON SIGHT….Lord have mercy on us all. #Covid9teen #weneedyoubradpit” on Facebook back in March, according to local news station KLFY.
In his lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court, Bailey contends his Facebook post was “harmless,” Constitutionally protected free speech and says his arrest was “baseless.” Sheriff Mark Wood and sheriff’s detective Randell Iles are named as defendants.
Bailey’s lawsuit describes a dramatic scene in which a SWAT team allegedly operating without a warrant “hauled him off” to jail, where he was charged with terrorism.
The plaintiff maintains he was bored after being confined during the coronavirus lockdown when he made the Facebook post.
The complaint goes on to claim that it is “widely known and understood” that online commentary such as Bailey’s Facebook post is “little more than harmless banter.”
He says there was no indication that people infected with COVID-19 were “turning into zombies that would have to be ‘shot on sight.’”
But the sheriff’s office apparently didn’t appreciate being part of Bailey’s Facebook post.
According to a Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office statement, detectives immediately began investigating the Facebook post after hearing about it, the lawsuit says.
Bailey claims about 10 sheriff’s officers believed to be part of the SWAT team came to his home “as if he were Pablo Escobar.”
The lawsuit points out that a report written by Iles says Bailey admitted to the Facebook post, but “there was no ill will toward the Sheriff’s Office; he only meant it as a joke.” Bailey was then reportedly arrested anyway, without incident.
Louisiana law required Iles to have specific probable cause before arresting Bailey on a terrorism charge, which he did not have, the lawsuit argues.
Bailey did not convey that a violent crime was “imminent or in progress,” nor did he possess intent to “cause members of the general public to be in sustained fear for their safety, or to cause evacuation of a building, a public structure, or a facility of transportation, or to cause other serious disruption to the general public.”
“Ultimately, and almost assuredly due to the complete lack of evidence, the District Attorney did not accept the charge against Mr. Bailey and no criminal case proceeded,” the lawsuit says.
Bailey, who was given a $10,000 bond, had to repay his friends and family who had paid a bail bondsman $1,200 so Bailey could be released.
He says he also was harmed because the sheriff’s office published his residential address in a Facebook post that was shared more than 1,300 times and received more than 1,800 interactions, likely reaching “tens of thousands” of people.
In addition, Bailey claims he developed anxiety and emotional distress after being “taken from his home by a para-military unit in response to his online banter,” and has been prescribed anti-anxiety medication as a result.
“Mr. Bailey has been branded a ‘terrorist’ on the news and in his local community, which significantly impacts his reputation,” the lawsuit says.
Bailey demands a jury trial. He also seeks compensatory, nominal and punitive damages, court costs and attorneys’ fees and any other relief the Court deems appropriate.
Do you think Bailey and those who make similar Facebook posts should face criminal charges? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by Garret S. DeReus, Andrew D. Bizer and Emily A. Westermeier of Bizer & DeReus LLC.
The Facebook Post False Arrest Lawsuit is Waylon Bailey v. Randell Iles, et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-01211-DCJ-JPM, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Alexandria Division.
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