New York City has agreed to pay $52,500 to two Occupy Wall Street protesters who filed a lawsuit after getting arrested for flipping the bird at police officers.
Nicholas Thommen, 21, and Channing Creager, 26, said their First Amendment rights were violated when they were arrested June 27, 2013 for gesturing with their middle finger at Officers Diane Bowman and John Harrigan on a Queens subway train, the New York Daily News reported.
The couple was arrested and spent the night in jail before being charged with disorderly conduct. The charges were dismissed after the couple stayed out of trouble for six months. They then sued the city for damages based on civil rights violations.
“Thommen and Creager gestured toward Bowman and Harrigan with their middle finger raised, an internationally recognized symbol of dislike and displeasure, and in doing so exercised their constitutional right, guaranteed under the state and federal constitutions, to freely express themselves,” their lawsuit against the city stated.
A spokesman for the city Law Department said the settlement was in the best interest of the city, the Daily News reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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