Brickbats

Honk If You Love Censorship

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Dwight Scarbrough, a scientist at a federal agency in Boise, Idaho, was at work one afternoon when he got a call from a Department of Homeland Security officer who asked to meet him in the parking lot. There, two uniformed armed DHS officers told Scarbrough he was in violation of a federal law banning the posting of signs, flyers, or handbills on federal property. Then they pointed to his truck, which is adorned with bumper stickers and magnetic signs that express thoughts such as "Support our Troops: Bring them Home Now," and "Honor Vets, Wage Peace." Scarbrough moved his vehicle under threat of being cited by the officers, but he says the owners of dozens of vehicles in the parking lot that had bumper stickers weren't threatened. Scarbrough contacted the local ACLU,, which found him an attorney, but he has since returned to work, with the same bumper stickers on his car, and hasn't been bothered again by DHS.