A Tennessee man who recorded and criticized a police officer says the response from law enforcement went far beyond a traffic dispute: a pre-dawn raid at his home, criminal charges and nearly four years of court battles.
Joshua Gibbons has sued the city of Kingsport, its police chief and officers, alleging they violated his First Amendment rights after he filmed a Kingsport Police Department SUV speeding at night without lights or sirens, according to reporting from Fox News Digital and statements from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which filed the lawsuit on his behalf in 2023.
Gibbons is now speaking publicly after the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his conviction and dismissed the remaining charge, according to FIRE.
“They tried to intimidate me, but I’m not backing down,” Gibbons said in a statement released by FIRE. “I can’t let this injustice stand, because my family doesn’t feel safe anymore. There’s no coming back from that raid on our home. They sent eight heavily armed officers to arrest me because I embarrassed them.”
The Video That Started the Case
According to the lawsuit, Gibbons filmed a Kingsport police SUV in October 2022 after alleging the officer was speeding without lights or sirens. He followed the vehicle to a fast-food drive-thru and recorded himself briefly criticizing the officer’s conduct.
FIRE Senior Attorney Adam Steinbaugh told Fox News Digital that the officer at the drive-thru did not treat the encounter as a crime at the time.
“When he caught up with the officer, the officer did the right thing. He ignored Joshua Gibbons, didn’t arrest him, didn’t view it as a crime, and went and got his hamburger,” Steinbaugh said.
Gibbons, who posts videos of police on duty, later uploaded another video showing an officer giving him the middle finger, according to Fox News Digital. FIRE alleges that after another citizen complained to the department about that officer’s conduct, police searched Gibbons’ YouTube channel and found the earlier video of the speeding SUV.
FIRE claims the department then pursued charges against Gibbons rather than disciplining the officer.
Eight Armed Officers at His Home
According to the lawsuit, within two hours of the department being made aware of the video, an arrest warrant was obtained for Gibbons on allegations of speeding, using a cellphone while driving and disorderly conduct. FIRE said the warrant was obtained from a court clerk rather than a judge.
The next morning, just before dawn, eight armed officers went to Gibbons’ home and arrested him in front of his elderly mother and daughter, according to security and cellphone footage described by Fox News Digital.
Steinbaugh characterized the case as retaliation for protected speech.
“The First Amendment protects the right not only to criticize and film police, but also to post it online,” Steinbaugh told Fox News Digital. “The police department didn’t treat this as a crime until Joshua posted this online and embarrassed the department.”
Appeals Court Rejected the Disorderly Conduct Conviction
Gibbons went through two trials. In the first, a judge acquitted him of speeding and cellphone charges but found him guilty of disorderly conduct, saying he was “offended by the way” Gibbons was “talking to that officer,” according to Fox News Digital.
Gibbons appealed to county circuit court, where a jury again found him guilty of disorderly conduct.
In June, however, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously overturned the verdict and dismissed the charge. The court found “no evidence” that Gibbons’ criticism stopped anyone from carrying out a lawful activity.
The appellate court also said Gibbons “did not threaten anyone, did not engage in any violent behavior, and did not create a physically offensive or hazardous condition.” The court noted that even “profane and insulting” words alone do not become a crime, especially when directed at police officers, who are expected to show more restraint than the average citizen.
“If you are a law enforcement officer, you are required by your uniform and by the First Amendment to tolerate criticism,” Steinbaugh said. “Some of that’s going to be fair criticism, some of it’s going to be unfair criticism. But you don’t get to go and arrest people for it.”
Fox News Digital reported that Kingsport Police did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
