The man, Thomas G. Smith, filed a civil rights lawsuit that resulted in the $35,000 settlement after his conviction and sentence—a year of probation and 25 hours of community service—was overturned by a state appeals court. The appeals court held that Smith’s post was not covered under the “fighting words” doctrine, which would have limited his freedom of speech, because, for that principle to apply, the speaker and the listener must be in physical proximity to each other.