WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by the satirical website The Onion of a man who was arrested and tried for mocking police on social media.
Justices on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling against Anthony Novak, who was arrested after he identified himself to the Parma, Ohio, police force in Facebook posts.
Following his acquittal of the criminal charges, Novak sued the police for violating his constitutional rights. But a federal appeals court ruled the officers had “qualified immunity” and dismissed the suit.
The Onion filed its lawsuit in defense of parody. His lawyers wrote that the First Amendment protects people from prosecution when they make fun of others.
“Writers at The Onion also have an interest in preventing political authorities from imprisoning comedians,” lawyers for the site wrote in a brief filed in October. “This warrant is filed in the interest of at least mitigating their future sentence.”
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