{"id":10012,"date":"2026-03-16T04:55:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T04:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/rapper-fights-cops-in-lawsuit-aclu-calls-absurd\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T04:55:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T04:55:38","slug":"rapper-fights-cops-in-lawsuit-aclu-calls-absurd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/rapper-fights-cops-in-lawsuit-aclu-calls-absurd\/","title":{"rendered":"Rapper Fights Cops in Lawsuit ACLU Calls Absurd"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\tAfroman, the rapper best known for his 2000 hit \u201cBecause I Got High,\u201d will go to trial next week in an unusual lawsuit filed by police officers who raided his Ohio home \u2014 a case that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has called \u201cnothing short of absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe case against the rapper (Joseph Forman) was filed by seven members of an Ohio county sheriff\u2019s department, who claim he caused them \u201cemotional distress\u201d by using footage of the guns-drawn 2022 raid \u2014 which ultimately yielded no charges \u2014 in critical social media posts and a music video.<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe lawsuit has rankled free speech advocates like the ACLU, which has called the case an attack on the First Amendment and \u201ca meritless effort to use a lawsuit to silence criticism.\u201d The rapper himself has echoed that argument<\/a>, saying he should \u201cbe allowed to speak out about my life.\u201d An attorney for the officers did not return a request for comment.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfroman rose to fame in the early 2000s with comedy rap tracks like \u201cBecause I Got High,\u201d a tune popularized on The Howard Stern Show<\/em> and the early internet that reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 10 weeks on the chart. The song was later nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 2002.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn August 2022, police from the Adams County Sheriff\u2019s Department raided Afroman\u2019s home with guns drawn, smashing down his door and seizing $5,031 in cash and other property. The raid came on a search warrant linked to suspicions of drug trafficking and kidnapping, but no wrongdoing was uncovered, no charges were ever filed and the money was later returned.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter the search, Afroman repeatedly posted video and images of the officers to social media, using them to express outrage at alleged damage done to his property and at what he viewed as excessive use of force. The footage was featured prominently in a music video for a 2022 song called \u201cLemon Pound Cake,\u201d in which he humorously described the raid and mocked the officers: \u201cHe\u2019s a Adams County Sheriff\/ He\u2019s hungry and he\u2019s big as hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tIt turns out the officers weren\u2019t laughing. In 2023, seven of them filed a civil lawsuit against him, claiming Afroman\u2019s use of the footage was an unauthorized commercial exploitation of their likeness, as well as an invasion of their privacy.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn their complaint, the officers (Shawn D. Cooley, Justin Cooley, Michael D. Estep, Shawn S. Grooms, Brian Newland, Lisa Phillips and Randolph L. Walters, Jr.) claimed they\u2019d been \u201csubjected to threats, including death threats\u201d because of Afroman\u2019s posts. They later added accusations that he defamed them by saying they stole money or threatened to kill him.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe artist and his lawyers quickly argued that such a case was an abuse of the court system, filed by government officials whom he had a constitutional right to criticize for alleged misconduct, especially when it was committed in his own home.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe plaintiffs in this case seek to tamp down and stifle the defendants\u2019 First Amendment rights and are using the judicial system to quell protected speech that they do not agree with,\u201d his lawyers wrote at the time.<\/p>\n

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\n\tIn October 2023, a judge dismissed some of the case<\/a>, ruling that public servants \u201chave to expect that they may from time to time be subject to commentary and criticism regarding their performance of their duties.\u201d But he allowed the defamation claim and some invasion of privacy claims to move ahead to trial.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfroman also countersued the officers, accusing them of destruction of property, trespassing, illegal search and seizure and other forms of wrongdoing. But the judge dismissed that case last month, paving the way for a trial next week focused solely on the rapper\u2019s alleged misconduct.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe case against Afroman has drawn criticism not just from the rapper himself. In a 2023 court filing<\/a>, attorneys for the ACLU sharply attacked the case, calling the officers\u2019 accusations of invasion of privacy \u2014 made over their own invasion of another person\u2019s home \u2014 \u201cnothing short of absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPlaintiffs are a group of law enforcement officers who executed what appears to have been a highly destructive and ultimately fruitless search of a popular musician\u2019s home. Now they find themselves at the receiving end of his mockery and outrage,\u201d the ACLU wrote at the time. \u201cThere is nothing the First Amendment protects more jealously than criticism of public officials on a matter of public concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tAfroman\u2019s attorney and a rep for the ACLU did not return requests for comment.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe trial will get underway Monday morning (March 16) before Judge Jonathan Hein at the Adams County Court of Common Pleas. Witness lists show that Afroman and the deputies themselves will be on the witness stand, and that jurors will see bodycam footage, the search warrant and the disputed videos.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen the trial does start, expect the officers\u2019 lawyers to echo earlier filings in which they say Afroman\u2019s criticism has \u201cmade it more difficult and even more dangerous for plaintiffs to carry out their official duties.\u201d And look for his lawyers to reprise their claim that the case is an assault on his constitutional rights: \u201cThis is a case about a performer and artist acting under their First Amendment freedom of expression,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n


\"Billboard
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