Ohio man arrested and jailed for Facebook page parodying Parma police
Anthony Novak was arrested in 2016 after creating a Facebook page parodying the Parma, Ohio Police Department. He spent four days in jail before a jury acquitted him. The Sixth Circuit later granted officers qualified immunity, and the Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal in 2022.
In March 2016, Anthony Novak created a Facebook page mocking the Parma Police Department. It was live for about 12 hours. Parma police obtained a warrant, raided Novak's apartment, seized his devices, and arrested him under an Ohio statute criminalizing disruption of police operations. He was jailed for four days and a jury acquitted him at trial. Novak sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging First and Fourth Amendment violations. The Sixth Circuit granted the officers qualified immunity (Novak v. City of Parma, 33 F.4th 296 (6th Cir. 2022)), and in February 2023 the Supreme Court denied certiorari over a brief from The Onion supporting Novak. The case became a leading example of police arresting a citizen for online satire.