A yard sign saying
Julie Pereira said she felt pressured to censor her political yard sign.
  • Julie Pereira posted a yard sign crudely expressing her dissatisfaction with both Biden and Trump.
  • But her city, Lakeland, Tennessee, near Memphis, deemed the sign "obscene" and fined her $50 a day.
  • She sued — and has now settled, with the town paying her around $32,000 in costs and legal fees.

A Tennessee woman whose eyebrow-raising political yard sign led to her being fined hundreds of dollars won about $32,000 after filing a First Amendment lawsuit against her city.

Earlier this year, Julie Pereira posted a sign in her front year saying "Fuck 'Em Both 2024." But it didn't take long for neighbors to complain and for a code enforcement officer from the Memphis suburb of Lakeland to fine Pereira for violating a city law against obscene signs.