Is it illegal to give a cop the middle finger in NC? Here’s what the law says
In certain situations, giving someone the one-finger salute is an effective way to let someone know how you feel about them.
Originating as a phallic gesture developed by the ancient Greeks roughly 2,500 years ago, CNN reported, flipping the bird at someone now signals “(blank) you” to anyone who sees it.
Celebrities have been known to give the middle finger to paparazzi for harassing them. And who can forget the time then-Tennessee defensive back Rashaan Gaulden presented Alabama fans with a pair of birds after a 97-yard pick-six in 2017?
But can you be arrested for flipping the bird at a cop? Here’s what the law says.
Can you be arrested for giving a cop the finger in NC?
No, you cannot be arrested for giving the finger to police in North Carolina.
The First Amendment protects your right to freedom of speech, even if that speech — or gesture — is directed at law enforcement, according to Rachel Harmon, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law.
“You have a First Amendment right to verbally oppose a police officer to criticize him, and that includes conduct that’s expressive like giving the officer a finger,” Harmon says. “It doesn’t mean that no officer ever arrests somebody for doing so, but it’s not illegal.”
Courts around the nation, including in North Carolina, have consistently upheld that giving the middle finger to a cop is protected speech.
In 2020, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that a state trooper’s decision to pull over a driver in Stanly County who flashed his middle finger at him wasn’t justified, the Associated Press reported.
What types of speech are not protected by the First Amendment?
Categories of unprotected speech include obscenity, child pornography, defamatory speech, false advertising, true threats and fighting words, according to the American Library Association.
“Criticism of the government, political dissatisfaction, and advocacy of unpopular ideas that people may find distasteful or against public policy are nearly always protected by the First Amendment,” the ALA says.
This story was originally published February 5, 2024 at 7:30 AM with the headline "Is it illegal to give a cop the middle finger in NC? Here’s what the law says."
