A Tennessee woman who was fined for an ‘obscene’ political yard sign has been awarded $32,000 after suing the city that punished her. 

Julie Pereira won a legal battle against the city of Lakeland for putting up a sign that offended officials. The sign in question boldly stated: ‘F*** ‘Em Both 2024.’

Her neighbors were upset about the sign, and a code enforcement officer fined her $50 per day in February. The fines and other fees totaled $427.

Julie, who is a mother, decided to take legal action last month. After negotiations, both parties reached a settlement on Wednesday. It was determined that the city had violated her First Amendment right to free speech.

Pereira’s attorney Daniel A. Horwitz praised the settlement after it was agreed this week, saying it was a victory for freedom of expression. 

‘Being able to tell politicians to f*** themselves is a sacred American right,’ he told Business Insider. 

‘We are proud to have protected Mrs. Pereira’s right to express her political views and to have achieved a successful outcome in this important First Amendment case.’ 

Pereira has also taken to selling her yard signs, saying on Facebook that she thinks ‘I was onto something here.’ 

In her lawsuit, Pereira explained the reason for her foul-mouthed signage, saying that she was disappointed to be choosing between Donald Trump and Joe Biden again in November’s election. 

A code enforcement officer noted that at least 10 of her neighbors complained about the sign, with one reportedly saying that they would have avoided buying their home altogether if they had known it would be displayed on their street.  

Following her initial fine, Pereira attempted to fight the penalty in court, however a judge ruled that it was not clear that ‘both’ in the sign referred specifically to Biden and Trump. 

The judge also noted Pereira has had other clashes with the city, including another successful lawsuit in May that saw her win a challenge over a Christmas decoration that also included swear words. 

When the judge initially shot down her signage challenge, they reportedly told her, ‘I will warn you, I don’t want to see you back in here.’ 

Pereira responded: ‘Your Honor, I do not want to see the City of Lakeland continue to violate my First Amendment rights.’  

Following that decision, Periera censored her sign with tape over the U, but her neighbors still complained. 

At the time, neighbor Nathan Scallon told ABC24, ‘It has implied expressive language that I feel is inappropriate for younger people.

‘There are rights that should be protected, but that doesn’t give us license to act in an immoral or inappropriate way, especially regarding children in the area.’ 

Pereira said that she subsequently launched her lawsuit because she is ‘not afraid to say what I stand for and believe in.’ 

Not all her neighbors were up in arms, as one added to the outlet at the time that they agreed with her, feeling ‘it’s a slippery slope when the city starts sticking their nose in what people can and can’t do with their own private property.’ 

Attorneys for the city eventually agreed this week as they settled the lawsuit. 

Pereira won $31,000 for her legal fees plus several hundred dollars in damages and costs.