Weird how this happens.
After a couple spotted a man holding a sign that read “Death to America” on a curb in Middleburg, Florida, they decided to take matters into their own hands by physically beating up the man and snatching the sign away from him in a Tuesday encounter that was caught on camera.
The man and woman were driving past the curb in a gray Nissan when they saw Charles Brownett standing there with his sign, which read “Death to America” on the front and “Because of Obama’s policies” on the back, according to WJAX-TV. The woman in the car allegedly shouted at Brownett, “Why don’t you leave America?” to which he responded, “Give me some money,” the Clay County Sheriff’s Office report stated…
Well, they didn’t give him money.
Investigators have since identified the pair that began the scuffle with Brownett, although their names have not been publicly released. No charges have yet been filed as the deputies had not yet made contact with the couple, according to WOKV-TV. But the suspects could face up to a year in jail for battery charges, WJAX reported. Brownett, however, will face no charges, because according to authorities, he was exercising his right to freedom of speech as he peacefully stood in a public area posing no obvious threat to passersby or to ongoing traffic.
Brownett’s sign and the issue of freedom of speech at play in this incident caused a stir amongst witnesses and social media users.
“He is in public area, where he has a right to be. He’s expressing an opinion that is his,” said Action News Jax Law and Safety Expert Dale Carson. “If he were encouraging some sort of violence or using prohibited language like the ‘F’ word or the ‘N’ word, then that could have had other ramifications.”
“He got what he deserved,” one female witness told WJAX. “Come on, it’s America, you’re not going to hold a sign with all the terroristic attacks going around the world. No.”
***************************************************
