Instagramer Files Lawsuit After Police Threaten Her Over COVID-19 Post

A lawsuit has been filed against a Wisconsin Sheriff and a sergeant after a teen was allegedly threatened for uploading a COVID-19 Instagram post.

The COVID-19 lawsuit was filed by a 16-year-old along with her parents who say the Sheriff of Marquette County Joseph Konrath and Patrol Sergeant Cameron Klump violated the teen’s First Amendment rights by telling her to take down an Instagram message, saying that she had the coronavirus, and threatening to arrest her if she failed to do so.

According to the high schooler, she went on a spring break trip to Disney World and Universal Studios in Florida with her high school’s band class between March 7 and 15. She says that while she was there, places around the country began to close in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

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On March 9, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a public health emergency, and on March 12, Universal Orlando Resort informed the public that the theme parks would close on March 15.

In Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers declared a state of emergency on March 12, also relating to the coronavirus. And Wisconsin schools were ordered to close by March 18.

According to the Wis. teen, she and her classmates were forced to return home on March 15 due to the closures, cutting their trip short.

She states that four or five days after she returned home, she began experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. The COVID-19 lawsuit claims that on March 22, she began having difficulty breathing, so her mother took her to the hospital.

The coronavirus Instagram post lawsuit states that at the hospital, doctors determined that the teen’s symptoms were consistent with COVID-19, but that they could not give her a test because of the testing criteria in place.

Instead, they provided her with an inhaler, and instructed her and her parents to self-quarantine. She also was instructed to return if her condition worsened. She was reportedly told that she could not be tested for COVID-19 because she had missed her window for testing.

The teen’s parents say they informed the school band teacher of her condition, so other teachers could be warned, but they claim they received no response from the school.

The Wisc. teen says she posted an initial Instagram post notifying friends that she had the COVID-19 virus. On March 25, her symptoms reportedly worsened to the point that her mother took her to the emergency room and the teen was taken by ambulance to a nearby children’s hospital. 

While at the hospital, the teen’s mother allegedly received a call from the high school principal about an unrelated issue, at which point the mother informed the principal about her daughter’s condition.

Allegedly, the principal said that he would “follow up” with the band teacher but the coronavirus lawsuit says the family did not receive a response.

On March 26, the teen says she was able to return home from her hospital stay, at which point she posted an Instagram message that read “I am finally home after being hospitalized for a day and a half. I am still on breathing treatment but have beaten the coronavirus. Stay home and be safe.”

The COVID-19 social media lawsuit then explains that the next day, Klump from the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office came to the teen’s home, asking to speak with her father.

The sergeant reportedly told her father that the school’s superintendent had launched a complaint about his daughter’s latest Instagram post. The sergeant told the family that Sheriff Konrath had sent him to tell the high schooler to remove her post.

According to the sergeant, if the teen refused to do so, she and her family could be cited for disorderly conduct — allegedly, the sheriff also instructed the sergeant to “start taking people to jail” if they refused to comply.

The family states that Klump relayed that Konrath wanted the post taken down because at the time, there were no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Marquette County.

Allegedly, the family offered to show the sergeant information that they had received from their daughter’s doctors, which stated that the high schooler’s symptoms were consistent with COVID-19.

However, the sergeant refused to look at the information. Additionally, the family claims that no one from the sheriff’s department or the school district had attempted to request information regarding the student’s treatment or symptoms.

The COVID-19 free speech lawsuit states that the teen agreed to remove her Instagram post out of fear that she or her parents could be arrested or fined, at which point the sergeant left.

The student says that she saved a screenshot of her first Instagram post that referenced her symptoms, and then deleted the post from Instagram.

The same day, the Westfield District Administrator Bob Meicher allegedly emailed parents in the school district, stating that although there was a rumor that a student had contracted coronavirus, this was untrue and merely an effort by the student to get attention.

According to the COVID-19 lawsuit, the teen has felt like she could not respond to Meicher’s email because she is still worried about the possibility of being arrested by Konrath or Klump.

The family then sent a message to the Sheriff’s Office informing them that the arrest threats and instruction to remove the Instagram posts represented a violation of First Amendment rights, and asked the office to provide written confirmation that the office would not violate these rights in the future. However, the Sheriff’s Office did not agree to these requests.

Now, the Wisconsin family asks the court to make declaration that the teens Instagram posts are protected by the First Amendment, and a declaration that the Sheriff’s threats in response to the posts are also a violation of the First Amendment.

The family also seeks an injunction against the Sheriff’s Office, damages and other relief that the court wishes to provide.

The plaintiffs are represented by Rick Esenberg, Luke N. Berg, Anthony F. LoCoco, and Lucas T. Vebber of Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty.

The Coronavirus Instagram Lawsuit is Case No. 2:20-cv-00620-JPS, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

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