Jury Awards $205,000 in Damages to Man Arrested for Zombie-Themed COVID-19 Joke on Facebook
FOREST HILL, LOUISIANA – Waylon Bailey, a resident of Forest Hill, Louisiana, was arrested in March 2020 for a Facebook post in which he made a zombie-themed joke about COVID-19. The arrest, carried out with a SWAT-style raid by sheriff’s deputies, provoked controversy and raised questions about free speech. However, a federal jury recently awarded Bailey $205,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, recognizing the harm inflicted by the unconstitutional arrest. Bailey expressed his satisfaction with the jury’s decision, stating that it vindicated his post as satire and highlighted the importance of protecting speech rights. The … Read more