Is not being a fan of the president a criminal offense? According to one woman from Pennsylvania, an officer she had a run in with seemed to think so.
According to Law and Crime, at the end of 2017, Darian Balcom, was accused by authorities of breaking into a nearby building to steal some cats. Balcom attempted to explain that it was all a misunderstanding, and that while she’d entered the building to feed some abandoned dogs, the cats fled.
Even though she was initially charged with a series of felonies like burglary, theft and criminal trespass, the charges were ultimately dropped. But the animal lover has now filed a lawsuit against the city and the two responding officers who she claims arrested her due to her political views and not the case at hand.
Balcom claims that on the day of the incident, officer Gabe Figueroa asked her if she supported Trump and allegedly called her a “bleeding heart liberal” after she said no.
“She responded that she was not a Trump supporter,” the lawsuit claimed. “Defendant Figueroa told Ms. Balcom that he was glad Trump had won the election.”
The suit claims that by demanding to know her feelings on the president and constantly referring to her as “sweetheart,” Figueroa not only violated her constitutional right to “criticize the police and express political views and affiliations,” but also demonstrated that gender discrimination was a factor in the arrest.
READ MORE: White teen in Michigan gets arrested after making up fake story about a Black cop giving her ticket
Furthering her claims of gender bias are the allegations that at one point Figueroa admitted she “had not done anything wrong” but explained that he “intended to arrest her because she had ‘sassed’ the officers.”
Another officer, who remains anonymous and is only identified only as John Doe, allegedly witnessed the encounter and has also been cited as a defendant in the case.