Standing Up - Comedy Edition
A protester's inflatable costume bends a local cop completely out of shape, so of course, an arrest must ensue.
Inflatable costumes have become a a symbol of resistance to the POTUS 47 administration in this last little while, with frogs, roosters, unicorns and dinosaurs being repurposed from children’s birthday parties to add whimsy to the protest front lines. Last October, a No Kings protester in Fairhope, Alabama, opted for an inflatable costume more appropriate for a bachelor party or other sort of fertility rite; she showed up in a penis costume that she bought at a local Halloween store. So that the point wouldn’t be missed she accompanied her costume with a sign:
“No Dick Tator”
As recounted court documents1, Officer Krupke Babb arrived on the scene, apparently in response to public complaints that the protesters were creating a traffic hazard. Finding none, he turned his attention to Ms. Renea Gamble’s costume, asking: “If my kids had to come by and see this, how would you explain it to them?” When Ms. Gamble turned and walked away from him, Officer Babb grabbed her costume, threw her to the ground, and commenced to handcuff her hands behind her back.
If you’re wondering how one might handcuff a miscreant in an inflatable penis costume (it took two members of law enforcement), here you go:
“This is a family town,” exclaimed Officer Babb, “and I’m not going to have somebody out here dressed like this, you understand? This is abusive! I would hate for her grandkids to see her like this!”
Yes, I agree that this is abusive, but not in the way Officer Babb thinks it’s abusive.
This law enforcement theatre of the absurd continues with Officer Babb’s attempts to stuff Ms. Gamble, still handcuffed, and her costume, still inflated, into the back of a patrol vehicle, as she cries out in pain. When the officers finally decide to remove her costume, they ask her name. “Aunt Tifa,” she responds. As the officer strips her costume and loads her into his patrol car, Officer Babb responds with typical Southern politeness:
“Aunt Tifa, I’m not trying to be difficult with you, ma’am … no, I’m not trying to violate your freedom of speech, I’m trying to preserve a town that has values.”2
The concern expressed by Officer Babb that this supposed act of public indecency was undertaken by a woman of a certain age is continued in the news coverage of the arrest, which describe her as a “grandmother.”3 Because of course, once females reach the age of 50, reporting on their involvement in anything that remotely has to do with sex must mention their age and motherhood status. But let’s not get stuck on this feminist point.
Ms. Gamble was ultimately charged with two misdemeanors: disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest, the latter charge being a law enforcement favorite. They can rough you up while effecting an arrest, and no matter what you do, including struggling while trying to cooperate, can be framed to justify a resisting charge. I try very hard to support law enforcement, but when they act like d**ks, as they are doing in this case, they need to be called out.
Unfortunately the body cam footage does not provide a good view of Officer Babb and his keystone kops krew, so I offer you this image instead.
I should say something about the applicable law in order to justify writing this as a full blog post, but David Gespass, Ms. Gamble’s attorney, does a fine job in his short motion to dismiss, which is worth reading in its entirety.4 To summarize, wearing a penis costume to a public protest does not fit any of the proscribed acts in the disorderly persons statute, and she did not, in fact, resist arrest, as the body cam video clearly shows.
He also ably addresses the First Amendment issue, appropriately emphasizing Officer Babb’s expressions of personal offense at the costume. I’ll leave you with a quote included in his motion, from the Chief Justice Roberts’ majority opinion in Snyder v. Phelps, 562 U.S. 443 (2011):
The First Amendment reflects “a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open.” That is because “speech concerning public affairs is more than self-expression; it is the essence of self-government.” Accordingly, “speech on public issues occupies the highest rung of the hierarchy of First Amendment values, and is entitled to special protection.”
The arrest took place last October, but it is scheduled for trial on Wednesday, April 15, after numerous adjournments. I’ll do an update when the case is resolved.
Motion to Dismiss, https://www.scribd.com/document/951634980/Renea-Gamble
I’m familiar with censorship masquerading as Southern gentility; last year, in response to my post containing a simple notice about the local Tesla protest, a member of my residential community emailed me that I was “unkind, unchristian, and certainly not Southern.” Guilty (sometimes), not guilty (8 years of Catholic school), guilty (I’m a Jersey girl).
Al.com: https://www.al.com/news/2025/12/first-amendment-on-trial-alabama-attorney-talks-about-inflatable-penis-costume-case.html; The Intercept: https://theintercept.com/2026/04/03/penis-costume-no-kings-protest-alabama-censorship/
See footnote 1.