Afroman Can't Beat Qualified Immunity

Afroman can’t beat qualified immunity, and neither can you.

But wait, didn’t he win his case? That’s what all the headlines are saying.

Yes. He overcame his defamation case. It’s a great victory for free speech.

But before that case ever went to trial, he lost a fight that few are talking about.

If you’re unfamiliar with Afroman’s fight for free speech, here’s the short version…

In 2022, sheriff’s deputies in Adams County, Ohio, kicked down Afroman’s door. Even though his kids were home, they searched his home with guns drawn. They were looking for drugs and kidnapping victims. They even searched his suit pockets – where they found no kidnapping victims. This gang found no drugs, either. So they left.

No charges were ever filed.

In their wake, they broke his front gate, smashed his door, and detached his security cameras. When Afroman requested the sheriff’s office pay for the damage, they laughed at him and said they weren’t required to. So…

When life handed Afroman lemons, he made Lemon Pound Cake.

He pulled his security footage and turned the entire affair into music videos. It went viral. Millions of views. The internet loved it.

The deputies didn’t. They sued him for $3.9 million, claiming his videos caused them to unjustly suffer humiliation, ridicule, and emotional distress.

Their case went forward. And the jury sided with Afroman on all 13 counts. Freedom of speech won, the internet celebrated, and the cops got their just desserts.

But here’s the part you may have missed, and that few are talking about. It’s the part that happened before Afroman emerged victorious from his legal battle.

Afroman tried to fight back in court – not with songs, but with a…

Countersuit

He wanted the deputies held accountable for the damage they did to his home: the broken door, the smashed gate, the detached cameras, and the $400 in cash that went “missing” during the raid.

The judge dismissed his claims. No jury. No hearing. Just gone.

Think about that. The deputies got a full jury trial over hurt feelings from a music video. But…

Afroman couldn’t get a hearing over a broken door and “missing” money.

The deputies had full access to the courts to go after Afroman. Meanwhile, Afroman had no path to hold the deputies accountable for what they did to his home.

Why? Two unspoken words…

Qualified Immunity

Qualified immunity is a judicial doctrine conjured out of thin air. It holds that police cannot be held liable for their actions unless a previous court has already ruled that the exact same act, involving the exact same facts, was a constitutional violation. That’s a Catch-22.

Afroman can’t beat qualified immunity, but he is famous. He had security cameras rolling. On top of that, he had the talent to get millions of people watching. He also had the ACLU file briefs on his behalf.

Still, he couldn’t hold the deputies accountable for what they did to his home. If this ever happens to your home…

You will not make a viral rap song about it.
Even if you made the song, you won’t have millions of followers backing you up.
You’ll just swallow your anger and eat the cost, because…

The system is designed to make sure you can’t fight back. That’s what qualified immunity does to regular people.

Many states are already moving to end qualified immunity. But we need this reform at the federal level too.

The Ending Qualified Immunity Act will allow citizens to sue police who have violated the law.

Please join The 300, if you haven’t already, to support ending qualified immunity. Afroman won his free speech battle. The fight for real police accountability? That one’s on us.

End Qualified Immunity

Set your own agenda,

Jim Babka, President
Agenda Setters by Downsize DC

Today’s Action: Everyone should be able to beat Qualified Immunity