"I'm not a football fan, I'm not a sports fan, but I'm surely a Donald Trump fan," said Joe Hornick
A New Jersey man who's been flying Donald Trump's campaign flag in front of his home since February could face up to a $2,000 fine or jail time when he faces a judge in the case.
Joe Hornick has been flying Trump's "Make America Great Again" flag outside his West Long Branch home on a busy corner near the Monmouth University campus for months.
But he got a ticket recently citing him for illegally posting political signage more than 30 days before an election. The New Jersey presidential primary isn't until June 7.
"I'm not a football fan, I'm not a sports fan, but I'm surely a Donald Trump fan," he told NBC 4 New York.
Hornick actually flies two Trump flags day and night, and lights them up when it gets dark. They've been ripped down five times so far.
"Let them come, let them rip those flags down because I have a warehouse on alert, and I'll put up a flag every time they tear one down," he said.
Hornick is ready to face a judge. If he loses the flag fight in court. Hornick is prepared to serve the sentence.
"I'm not taking the flag down, and if I do 90 days in jail, I'll do 90 days in jail," he said.
Hornick says he once saw Trump at a Trump casino but didn't try to greet him.
"To be honest with you, I didn't get up because I was at the blackjack table and I was actually trying to rob him," he joked.
But that was then, he says, and this is now. And if Trump loses, Hornick says he'll shred his voter registration card and never vote again.
And he'll keep flying that flag.
Poster Comment:
He could help make Jersey great again, by moving to New York.
He could help make Jersey great again, by moving to New York.
If this fella was a drug addict or career criminal, Deckard would have posted this along with his other pro black lives matter and OWS garbage. But since this constitutionally violated LAW ABIDING CITIZEN is a Trump supporter, Hondope, Huey Deckard and the other agenda posters turn into hypocritical ghosts.
That's the difference between you and me - I believe that the First Amendment applies to ALL speech, not just the speech I agree with.
Oh really? Then why did it take me shaming you over your hypocracy (the fact that you didn't post the article like you would have if it was a quack Paultard being spanked for violating a local ordinance) for you to finally open your Paultard pleaser?
Oh really? Then why did it take me shaming you over your hypocracy (the fact that you didn't post the article like you would have if it was a quack Paultard being spanked for violating a local ordinance) for you to finally open your Paultard pleaser?
Dude, it's New Jersey. The Constitution, Bill of Rights and state laws rarely apply there.
#24. To: sneakypete, GrandIsland, Deckard, Vicomte13, Roscoe, nolu chan (#23)
HotGas wrote a piece by a guy experienced with campaigns and sign laws and flag laws.
Jersey man faces possible jail time for Trump flag
Jazz Shaw
Trump supporters frequently comment on how it can be dangerous to publicly support their candidate, with threats of retaliation and public harassment following such proclamations. But the one thing you don’t generally hear about is people being tossed in jail for it. That may wind up being the case in New Jersey, however, where one man has been issued a summons for flying a “Make America Great Again” flag over his home. Failure to remove it could result in a hefty fine or a stretch in the hoosegow. (Reuters)
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump appears to have a passionate supporter in Joseph Hornick, a New Jersey man who faces a $2,000 fine or 90 days in jail for flying a flag emblazoned with the billionaire candidate’s name over his home.
Local officials said the flag violates an ordinance prohibiting the display of political signs more than 30 days ahead of an election and issued him a summons. New Jersey’s primary is on June 7.
For weeks, Hornick has displayed the blue flag with Trump’s “Make America Great Again!” campaign slogan on a pole outside his two-story West Long Branch house, at a busy intersection near Monmouth University, in a show of his support for Trump. Trump has been campaigning this week in neighboring New York in an effort to snag the Republican presidential nomination.
Something tells me that Mr. Hornick might not be in as much trouble as the media descriptions would indicate. There are a few reasons to suspect that this may turn out to be a case which is either dismissed or successfully challenged and simply ends up getting Trump some additional free publicity. The first point to make is that the article reveals that the homeowner originally said he would comply with the order and take down the flag, but changed his mind after consulting his attorney.
Unless his lawyer is a complete idiot, Hornick may have a clear path to stay out of jail. Having worked some congressional campaigns, I can tell you that we had to deal with the various laws regarding political signage and it’s always a mess. There are federal laws in place regarding lawn signs defining of where they can be placed in terms of obstructing traffic and the need for disclosure of the source of the sign. (This applies to signs created and distributed by the campaign or by supporting PACs primarily.) The various states also have some of their own laws along those lines. It’s when you get down to the local, municipal level where you run into trouble.
Many towns and cities have laws on the books limiting how far in advance of elections you can put out yard signs. These are largely intended to reduce clutter and prevent obstruction, and they often carry matching instructions for how soon the signs must be taken down after the election is over. But there have been long running questions about whether or not such laws abridge free speech and if the town has the right to limit displays of any kind on the private property of homeowners. Further, these laws typically (at least in our area) have strict descriptions of what constitutes a “sign” and what size it can be, how close to the road or sidewalk, etc.
In this case, Mr. Hornick has a flagpole in his yard and he’s flying an actual cloth flag, not posting a sign with a frame driven into the ground. Flagpoles tend to run under an entirely different set of municipal laws and they deal with height and placement questions, not the content of the “message.” We have several neighbors with flagpoles which are permanent installations and they fly various flags all year round. You can always fly the American flag or a POW/MIA banner or even the state flag with no problems. (If you try the Confederate Battle Flag it’s another question.) They also have seasonal flags for the major holidays or the changing of the seasons. None of these are cause to be dragged into court. I’m not sure that this Trump flag would even fall under political signage laws.
The municipal ordinances for West Long Branch, New Jersey are available online here and it’s not at all clear there is a violation. The section on signs seems fairly straightforward.
3-19 POLITICAL SIGNS. 3-19.1 Definitions.
As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Political sign shall mean a sign which directs attention to an issue, issues, candidate or candidates for public consideration in an election, including the name of a political party.
Property or parcel shall mean any property other than property which is publicly owned. (Ord. #O-07-15, S 1)
3-19.2 Posting on Public Property and Utility Structures Prohibited.
No political sign shall be erected, posted, placed on or attached to any public property, utility pole, traffic sign, street sign, fire hydrant, public telephone booth or similar public fixture. (Ord. #O-07-15, S 2)
3-19.3 Posting on Private Property Restricted.
a. No political sign shall be erected, posted or placed on private property without the express consent of the owner, which owner shall then be responsible for compliance with this section. b. No sign in excess of six (6) square feet shall be permitted to be placed on grounds or yards (front, rear or side) facing any public street. c. All such signs must be at least six (6′) feet from the curbline or, if there is no curb, six (6′) feet from the edge of the paved street. d. No candidate’s name or issue may appear on more than one (1) sign per property. e. No political sign may be illuminated. f. Any political sign erected or placed pursuant to this section shall be constructed of such material that it will not readily tear, and shall be affixed so that it will not readily become detached. (Ord. #O-07-15, S 3)
3-19.4 Time Posting; Removal.
a. No political sign shall be displayed sooner than thirty (30) days prior to the date of the election or the decision of the issue is scheduled. b. Signs shall be removed within five (5) days following said election or date of decision. (Ord. #O-07-15, S 4)
So does Mr. Hornick’s flag fall under this? In the definitions section of the municipal codes (18-3) they provide instructions as to various bits of terminology. Here’s what they have to say about signs. (Emphasis added)
Sign shall mean any device, structure or object for visual communication that is used for the purpose of bringing the subject thereto to the attention of others, but not including any flag, badge or insignia of any public, quasi-public, civic, charitable or religious groups.
Does that mean that no flag is included, or no flag specific to public, civic, charitable or religious groups? Hard to say, but clearly the homeowner’s attorney thinks he may have the upper hand on this one. We’ll check back in after it’s resolved, but don’t be surprised if Joseph Hornick has the last laugh.
So the homeowner does have some chance to prevail, it seems. If he's willing to go through the whole process and possibly spend a lot of money on his lawyer.
So the homeowner does have some chance to prevail, it seems. If he's willing to go through the whole process and possibly spend a lot of money on his lawyer.
I'd just find out who is complaining and slash their tires.
He is one of the long tyme posters of LF. I think his monicker is registered, and is indexed about 35 out of about 700 other posters that don't come back to LF because we have a tyrant (here) that abuses just about everyone.
Fred was originally from FR back in 1998. He left and went to LP. He also joined FU where you inticed him to join this chit-chat channel. Little did Fred know that you were going to abuuse him.
Hey PIG ... Fred is one of the best posters on LF. He has survived piles of chit-chat forums which directly attests to his good character and humourous postings.
