A Texas woman with a ‘F**k Trump’ sticker plastered on her pickup truck has now added another expletive-filled message in honor of the sheriff who threatened her with disorderly conduct charges.
Karen Fonseca, who was arrested last week on an outstanding fraud warrant, had been seen in the Houston area driving a pickup truck displaying an expletive-laden message opposing President Trump and his supporters.
Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls had initially put out an appeal on social media to track down Fonseca and threatened to issue her a citation for disorderly conduct over the sticker.
He posted a photo of the truck message on Facebook on Wednesday alongside a request to speak with the driver. Nehls in his post said that a county prosecutor told him the message could warrant a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.
Karen Fonseca, 46, added the ‘F**k Troy Nehls’ sticker (above) to her truck in honor of the sheriff who last week threatened her with charges for the ‘F**k Trump’ message on her pickup
Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls had put out an appeal on social media to track down Fonseca and threatened to issue her a citation for disorderly conduct
The sheriff later backed down after District Attorney John Healey said he didn’t think it would have been a prosecutable case.
The following day, Fonseca was taken into custody on an outstanding fraud warrant issued in August by the Rosenberg Police Department. She remained in the county jail Thursday night with bond set at $1,500.
Following her release from prison, Fonseca posted a photo on Facebook on Sunday of the new message on her truck.
It now reads: ‘F**k Trump and f**k you for voting for him. F**k Troy Nehls and f**k you for voting for him.’
Fonseca said the message has been on the rear window of her pickup for nearly a year and it would remain there for the time-being.
At a press conference with her attorneys on Monday, Fonseca said she was simply exercising her freedom of speech rights.
‘No matter what race, religion, or belief you may have, we are all equal. Not any one of us is any better than anyone else. Everyone’s voice should be heard. And I’m just one person,’ she said.
‘What are we teaching our next generation of presidents to be? If you can say ‘grab those women by the p***y’. (Trump) says it and nobody deletes it.’
Fonseca and her lawyers held a press conference on Monday morning saying she feels everyone is entitled to free speech
Nehls posted a photo of the truck message on Facebook last week alongside a request to speak with the driver. He later back down on his threat of charges against Fonseca
“I feel we’re all entitled to our freedom of speech. We should stand together and always stand behind what you believe. And that is what it takes to make a change happen,” Karen Fonseca, owner of anti-Trump truck, says pic.twitter.com/UJabwEq843
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 20, 2017
‘I feel we’re all entitled to our freedom of speech. We should stand together and always stand behind what you believe. And that is what it takes to make a change happen,’ she added.
Her lawyers say they are considering filing civil rights lawsuit against the sheriff.
Fonseca was arrested on Thursday over an outstanding fraud warrant issued in August. She added the ‘F**k Nehls’ sticker over the weekend after being released
At a news conference after his Facebook post appealing for information about the owner of the truck, Nehls said he supported freedom of speech but worried that profane messages could incite others and lead to confrontations that would disturb the peace he had pledged to keep.
A spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, which covers the county just southwest of Houston, said Nehls’ post was removed once the pickup driver was identified.
Nehls had also been receiving hate messages toward his wife and children, according to the sheriff’s office.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas posted on Facebook that Fonseca’s message is protected speech and urged her to reach out to the organization.
The ACLU noted a 1971 U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned the conviction of a man for disturbing the peace for wearing a jacket with an expletive as part of an effort to protest the military draft and the Vietnam War.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas posted on Facebook that Fonseca’s message is protected speech and urged her to reach out to the organization