A Tennessee man was arrested on Friday for alleged harassment after authorities said he had spread a disrespectful photo of a law enforcement officer’s grave on social media.
Joshua Andrew Garton, 28, was arrested on charges of harassment and jailed in Dickson County, Tennessee, for a $ 76,000 bond, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.
According to the bureau, Garton recently produced and distributed a doctored photo of two men lying on the grave of Dickson County Sheriff’s Sgt. Daniel Baker, who was fatally shot in duty in 2018.
“Just be my respect for Deputy Daniel Baker,” reads the text that appears next to the image.
According to the bureau, state detectives visited the grave and determined that the photo did not depict an actual violation.
Nashville Attorney Daniel Horwitz, who does not represent Garton, said in an email that the arrest appears to be a violation of the Constitution.
“The first amendment protects the man’s right to post an offensive photo about a police officer, clearly and unmistakably,” he said. “The only people who violated the law here were the police officers and TBI agents who took part in this blatant unconstitutional arrest.”
The office said in an email that the investigation and arrest was carried out on behalf of Ray Crouch, the district attorney general.
“At the request of a district attorney general to investigate an incident, TBI agents serve as fact-finders,” bureau spokeswoman Leslie Earhart said. “The DA determines what charges, if any, are placed.”
Crouch did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday. A public defender of the country also did not respond.
On Twitter, Horwitz, who specializes in constitutional law, criticized law enforcement for the arrest.
“I’m excited about the government putting someone in jail for disrespecting them,” he said.
