Police have ordered a Louisiana woman to take down a Christmas lights display shaped like a hand giving the middle finger, but she says she might just replace it with a swastika.
Sarah Henderson, of Denham Springs, told the Advocate that she was using the decorations as means of communicating with her neighbors, with whom she has an ongoing dispute.
“This is how I expressed myself,” Henderson said. “It’s the only means I have to express myself to these people.”
Henderson agreed to take down the display after a visit from the cops, who had been summoned on Monday by her irate neighbors, WBRZ reported. Police told her she could face fines if she left the display up.
The ACLU of Louisiana is none too pleased, according to WWL.
Executive Director Marjorie Esman sent an open letter to the Denham Springs Police Department, stating that the raised middle finger is an expressive gesture protected under the First Amendment.
Police Corporal Shawn Perkins argues that the display violates the city's obscenity statute.
Though Henderson said she's considered putting up a swastika as a replacement, she noted that she's never installed an offensive display in the past.
Nevertheless, she told the paper, "I've always been a little different."
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