“Truth” Prevails: Under Pressure from the ACLJ, Agreement Reached to Protect Free Speech in Michigan

“Truth Truck” Driver Saved from Prosecution for Expressing Viewpoint

WASHINGTON, May 29, 2009—Ronald Brock is celebrating the removal of the threat of arrest and prosecution for exercising his free speech rights. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), the nation's leading conservative public interest law firm, has been working in United States District Court in Michigan on behalf of Brock to protect his First Amendment rights. 

Brock travels throughout the country in what he calls a "truth truck," a vehicle on which he displays large signs and photographs to express various messages.  One particular message, which included images of victims of the Nazi Holocaust, attracted the attention of Michigan law enforcement officers in March 2008.  Brock was threatened with prosecution under Michigan law if he did not remove the photographs.  The statute in question, M.C.L. 750.38, makes it a misdemeanor for any person to display on private or public property, any sign, picture, or other representation of murder, assassination, fighting, personal violence or the commission of a crime. 

Today, the ACLJ on behalf of its client, Ronald Brock, entered into a consent agreement with Michigan Attorney General Michael Cox.  The agreement was approved by U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Maloney.  Per the agreement, Michigan law enforcement will not enforce the statute in question with those engaged in non-commercial "First Amendment Expressive Activities."

"Attorney General Cox rightly recognized that interpreting M.C.L. 750.38 to prohibit the Truth Truck's displays was clearly in violation of Ron Brock's constitutional rights.  By this standard, a person could be arrested for publicly displaying a painting of Jesus Christ being flogged, the famous photograph of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald, or even the front page of a local newspaper that includes an image of a bank robbery," said ACLJ senior counsel Ed White.  "Today's agreement is a victory for free speech."

Brock is planning to return to Michigan in the coming weeks and is thankful that his "truth truck" can travel unimpeded by law enforcement. 

"Truth isn't always pretty.  That's the lesson of the images on the truth truck," says Brock.  "Averting our eyes or banning these images won't change the reality of what happened in the Holocaust or what is still happening every day in abortion clinics across America." 

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C.  The ACLJ is online at www.aclj.org.   

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