Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke will face a trial at the end of January that will decide whether his aggressive Facebook posts aimed at a fellow air passenger constituted a threat to that passenger.
A federal judge on Friday dismissed most of the civil rights lawsuit brought by Daniel Black against the ex-sheriff. But the judge also said a jury should decide whether Clarke’s Facebook posts about Black after the incident count as a threat or intimidation that amounts to a retaliation over Black’s decision to exercise his First Amendment rights.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Clarke will face trial on Jan. 22, just over one year after the incident took place on an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Milwaukee.
Black saw Clarke on board wearing his signature cowboy hat and Dallas Cowboys gear, which prompted him to ask if he was Sheriff Clarke. When Clarke identified himself, Black shook his head and continued walking to his seat.
When Black stepped off the plane, he was greeted and questioned by six uniformed deputies at Clarke’s request. Black later claimed that as an “unlawful detainment” in a formal complaint.
Clarke responded to the complaint in a Facebook post displaying Black’s face on the official Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page with the caption: “CHEER UP SNOWFLAKE… IF SHERIFF CLARKE WERE TO REALLY HARASS YOU, YOU WOULDN’T BE AROUND TO WHINE ABOUT IT.”
The FBI also found emails with a search warrant in relation to the incident in which Clarke described Black as an “asshole,” but did not find enough evidence for the criminal civil rights case.
News of the FBI search warrant broke last week after a federal court filing made it public.
In response to the news reports, Clarke threatened to make the media “taste their own blood” on Twitter, which landed him a brief lockdown of his account.
Clarke resigned from his position as sheriff in August and has been an outspoken supporter of President Trump and frequent guest on Fox News.
