Man sues after he was removed from meeting

Contending that his right to free speech was violated when he was removed from a March meeting of the Sussex County Board of Commissioners for wearing a shirt critical of one of the commissioners, Andover resident Kenneth Collins is suing the board.

Collins said he attended the March 13 meeting wearing a shirt with the words “F--k Bill Hayden” in protest of Commissioner Bill Hayden, who has been accused of lying about serving in the military.

“I was enlisted in the United States Army from 1985 to 1989 and served as a sergeant in the Republic of Korea,” Collins said. “Since the controversy surrounding Bill Hayden occurred, I have been going to the commissioner meetings wearing my T-shirt that says ‘F--k Bill Hayden.’ That is legally protected free speech, as decided by the courts in the 1970s when a Vietnam veteran protested with a ‘F--k the War’ T-shirt.

“I sat down in the second row minding my own business, and board attorney Doug Steinhardt said something to (board director) Jill Space about my T-shirt and that I needed to leave. The sheriff’s office should have known better, but they kicked me out anyway.”

Collins said he went to his car, changed shirts and went back to the meeting, where during the public comments, he informed the board of his intention to sue for violation of his constitutional rights.

In the suit, filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Collins also contends that Sussex County’s decorum policy is inconsistent with fundamental political speech rights guaranteed by the state and federal constitutions.

Both Hayden and Space declined to comment on the litigation.

Included in the legal documents is a statement from Space in which she says there were two girls, ages 6 and 9, present at the meeting and Collins’ shirt was distracting them and may have “presented a major disruption to these young children’s right to attend the public meeting and to participate in public discourse.”

Collins says Space’s statement is incorrect and the two girls seated next to him were “preoccupied with their own gadgets.”

The suit also names Steinhardt, the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office and individual officers as defendants. Calls to those parties seeking comment were not immediately returned.

A court hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 12.

Collins is being represented by the Law Office of Donald F. Burke, based in Brick.