Syracuse, N.Y. (AP) - A federal judge has thrown out a free speech lawsuit filed by a man who was arrested for loudly berating people on the sidewalk outside a Syracuse-area church.
Nicholas Auricchio was arrested in 2009 after getting into a confrontation with parishioners leaving a Roman Catholic church in DeWitt.
His targets included women he accused of wearing immodest clothing and another he chastised for smoking. Auricchio called them all bad Catholics and said they needed an exorcism.
Police asked Auricchio to leave, but he came back and began preaching loudly on a sidewalk across the street.
The officers then arrested and him for violating a town noise ordinance.
In a decision on Friday, U.S. District Judge Glenn Suddaby said Auricchio could have avoided arrest if he just lowered his voice.
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