In a bizarre turn of
events, Gregory Luce found himself the target of harassing e-mails and phone
calls as a result of retaliation by Campbell, Wisconsin Chief of Police Timothy
Kelemen. Luce was targeted for retaliation after he spoke out against a city
ordinance which prohibits citizens from displaying the American flag and
wearing t-shirts that call for the impeachment of President Barack Obama on a
pedestrian highway overpass managed by the town.
Luce is a devout Catholic and member of the Tea Party. He opposes
President Obama on several issues, including the President’s stance on
abortion.
The
Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national public interest law firm based in
Ann Arbor, MI, represents Mr. Luce in a federal lawsuit challenging the ordinance.
The lawsuit named the town as well as the chief and a police officer as
defendants. However, on Friday, June 6, 2014, TMLC attorneys filed an
amended complaint after an investigation by the Monroe County Sheriff’s
investigators revealed that Chief Kelemen used his police department and home
computers to sign Luce up for a series of unwanted solicitations including
solicitations from homosexual oriented pornography and dating websites.
Luce is a married, heterosexual man.
TMLC attorney Erin Mersino, a frequent FOT guest, who is the principal attorney
on the
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TMLC Attorney Erin Mersino |
case commented, “All citizens should be free to exercise their First
Amendment rights without fear of retaliation—especially retaliation at the
hands of individuals, such as the head of law enforcement, who hold so much
power in our communities.”
After initially denying any involvement in the harassment of Luce, the chief
ultimately admitted the harassment as an attempt to “get back at” Luce after
detectives told him they had traced the unwanted solicitations to his IP
addresses at the police department and his home. Detectives have referred their
investigation to the Monroe County District Attorney for criminal prosecution
under Wisconsin law. On the civil front, TMLC amended its complaint to
add counts of retaliation, invasion of privacy, and civil Identity Theft.
Chief Kelemen used Gregory Luce’s personal information, including home address,
telephone number and e-mail address, to create profiles and accounts on
numerous pornographic and dating websites featuring homosexual men, insurance
companies, and the “Obamacare” website healthcare.gov. The accounts created by
Kelemen resulted in Luce receiving approximately 15 phone calls in a single day
regarding the profiles made using his information.