Michael Wood v. Chad Eubanks, 25 F.4th 414

Michael Wood attended the Clark County Fair in 2016 wearing a shirt that read “Fuck the Police.”
Fairgrounds executive director Dean Blair and six deputies confronted Wood after a complaint; Blair demanded Wood leave and the deputies escorted him toward an exit.
While being escorted out, Wood repeatedly used profane insults directed at Blair and the deputies (e.g., "motherfuckers," "pigs," "thugs with badges").
Deputies arrested Wood for disorderly conduct and obstructing official business; the prosecutor later dismissed charges for lack of witnesses to prove "fighting words."
Wood sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for false arrest and First Amendment retaliation; the district court granted summary judgment for defendants, and Wood appealed.
The Sixth Circuit reversed: (1) there was no probable cause to arrest Wood for disorderly conduct because his speech was protected, and (2) a triable issue existed on retaliation (summary judgment reversed and case remanded).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Probable cause for disorderly conduct arrest	Wood: his profane speech was protected and not likely to provoke violence or a breach of the peace	Officers: Wood's abusive epithets and loudness constituted fighting words/unreasonable noise under Ohio law	No probable cause; speech protected; arrest unlawful
Qualified immunity for officers	Wood: right not to be arrested for profanity alone was clearly established	Officers: reasonable officers could have believed arrest lawful	No qualified immunity; right clearly established by prior Sixth Circuit and Supreme Court precedent
First Amendment retaliation	Wood: being escorted off fairgrounds and arrested were adverse actions motivated by his T-shirt and speech	Officers: removal was lawful response to conduct (filming, disturbance) and not motivated by shirt	Triable issue exists whether shirt/speech was a substantial or motivating factor; summary judgment reversed
Adverse action (removal from fairgrounds)	Wood: escorted removal would deter ordinary speaker — an adverse action	Officers: removal was not a constitutional adverse action	Court: removal under armed escort is an adverse action for retaliation claim

Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (fighting-words doctrine: words that by their utterance inflict injury or tend to incite immediate breach of the peace)
Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (protection for public display of offensive words; single expletive not a criminal offense)
City of Houston v. Hill, 482 U.S. 451 (First Amendment protects verbal challenges to police action)
Greene v. Barber, 310 F.3d 889 (6th Cir.) (insults to officer not a basis for arrest absent disruptive time/place/manner)
Kennedy v. City of Villa Hills, 635 F.3d 210 (6th Cir.) (crass insults to officers do not automatically constitute fighting words)
Sandul v. Larion, 119 F.3d 1250 (6th Cir.) ("f—k you" and rude gestures protected speech)
Goodwin v. City of Painesville, 781 F.3d 314 (6th Cir.) (disorderly conduct requires recklessness and likelihood of provoking immediate breach of the peace)
Barnes v. Wright, 449 F.3d 709 (6th Cir.) (officers expected to tolerate coarse criticism; profanity protected)
Leonard v. Robinson, 477 F.3d 347 (6th Cir.) (political or insulting speech not likely to cause a fight is protected)
Ashcroft v. al-Kidd, 563 U.S. 731 (qualified immunity standard: clearly established law requirement)
Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (qualified immunity framework)
Nieves v. Bartlett, 139 S. Ct. 1715 (plaintiff must plead/ prove absence of probable cause in some retaliation claims)