A New Jersey man who's been flying Donald Trump's campaign flag in front of his home since February could face up to a $2,000 fine or jail time when he faces a judge in the case. Brian Thompson reports (Published Friday, April 8, 2016) 
 
 New Jersey Homeowner May Face Jail for Flying Trump Campaign Flag 
 
 A New Jersey man who's been flying Donald Trump's campaign flag in front of his home since February could face up to a $2,000 fine or jail time when he faces a judge in the case. 
 
 Joe Hornick has been flying Trump's "Make America Great Again" flag outside his West Long Branch home on a busy corner near the Monmouth University campus for months. 
 
 But he got a ticket recently citing him for illegally posting political signage more than 30 days before an election. The New Jersey presidential primary isn't until June 7. 
 
 "I'm not a football fan, I'm not a sports fan, but I'm surely a Donald Trump fan," he told NBC 4 New York. 
 
 Trump's Dramatic Reading of 'The Snake' 
 
 At a rally on Long Island Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump staged a dramatic reading of a 1968 song called "The Snake" by Al Wilson in what he deemed an analogy to immigration. (Published Wednesday, April 6, 2016) 
 
 Hornick actually flies two Trump flags day and night, and lights them up when it gets dark. They've been ripped down five times so far. 
 
 "Let them come, let them rip those flags down because I have a warehouse on alert, and I'll put up a flag every time they tear one down," he said. 
 
 Hornick is ready to face a judge. If he loses the flag fight in court. Hornick is prepared to serve the sentence. 
 
 "I'm not taking the flag down, and if I do 90 days in jail, I'll do 90 days in jail," he said. 
 
 Hornick says he once saw Trump at a Trump casino but didn't try to greet him. 
 
 "To be honest with you, I didn't get up because I was at the blackjack table and I was actually trying to rob him," he joked. 
 
 WATCH: Ted Cruz Rolls Matzo in Brooklyn 
 
 Ted Cruz rolls matzo at the Chabat Neshama Center in Brooklyn on Thursday, April 7. (Published Friday, April 8, 2016) 
 
 But that was then, he says, and this is now. And if Trump loses, Hornick says he'll shred his voter registration card and never vote again. 
 
 And he'll keep flying that flag. ||||| Donald Trump speaks at a caucus night watch party at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) 
 
 A Jersey Shore town that’s hauling a homeowner before a judge for the offense of flying a Donald Trump “Make America Great Again” flag on his property may be in for a yuuuge legal fight. 
 
 A civil liberties group that has successfully challenged local New Jersey laws against political signage says the West Long Branch ordinance is unconstitutional — not only because limits on political speech are unlawful, but because officials can’t discriminate between flags. 
 
 Joe Hornick was ticketed by a police officer after officials received a complaint about a flag in his yard flying in support of the Republican presidential candidate. 
 
 West Long Branch man says he was ticketed for flying Donald Trump flag – https://t.co/KxpU2EKYVY pic.twitter.com/Xf3jUE2YIh — News12NJ (@News12NJ) April 7, 2016 
 
 A borough ordinance prohibits any signs being posted more than 30 days before an election. 
 
 Hornick, in a post on the West Long Branch Residents page on Facebook, contends that his flag is no different than a for-sale sign or a flag in support of an organization. 
 
 Borough Clerk Lori Cole told New Jersey 101.5 that “our borough attorney determined that a flag is considered a political sign.” 
 
 But Jeanne LoCicero, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, said the ordinance on its face sounds like it is unconstitutional. 
 
 “Political signs cannot be time limited,” said LoCicero, whose group had successfully won similar cases against Wyckoff, Hawthorne and Franklin Lakes over ordinances that limited the amount of time a sign remains on private property. 
 
 “Political signs are a form of political speech and residents are allowed to engage in that all year long.” 
 
 A community can have regulations about the size of a flag, for example, but “once (a community) allows flags they have to allow all flags. They can’t prefer a message on one flag over another,” LoCicero said. 
 
 NJ man defiant after ticket for flying Trump flag in his yard 
 
 The borough’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Friday afternoon. 
 
 Cole said Hornick has a Municipal Court hearing on April 20 where he could be fined anywhere between $100 and $2,000, a 90 day jail sentence or possibly both. Cole could not recall any cases in West Long Branch where someone went to jail over a political sign. 
 
 Got a news tip for New Jersey 101.5? Call 609-438-1015 or email sergio.bichao@townsquaremedia.com. ||||| News12.com reports on this: 
 
 Joe Hornick [of West Long Branch, N.J.,] tells News 12 New Jersey that a police officer who drove by his house last month stopped and issued him a ticket for displaying a political sign more than 30 days before an election. 
 
 A borough ordinance does restrict the display of any “[p]olitical sign,” defined to “mean a sign which directs attention to an issue, issues, candidate or candidates for public consideration in an election, including the name of a political party”: 
 
 No political sign shall be displayed sooner than thirty (30) days prior to the date of the election or the decision of the issue is scheduled. Signs shall be removed within five (5) days following said election or date of decision. 
 
 But that violates the First Amendment; as Reed v. Town of Gilbert (2015) makes clear, sign laws (and other speech restrictions) that discriminate based on the content of signs — such as by distinguishing signs about ballot issues or candidates from signs about other subjects — are generally unconstitutional. The city may impose some content-neutral speech restrictions that apply equally to all signs (though some such signs have to be allowed, see City of Ladue v. Gilleo (1994)). But it may not impose content-based restrictions such as this. 
 
 Thanks to Keith Kaplan for the pointer.
– "I'm not a football fan, I'm not a sports fan, but I'm surely a Donald Trump fan," Joe Hornick tells NBC 4. The New Jersey man has been flying a Trump flag outside his home for months and he says he will go to jail rather than obey an ordinance in the town of West Long Branch against flying political flags more than 30 days before an election. New Jersey holds its primary on June 7, meaning it will be weeks before Hornick can legally fly the "Make America Great Again" banner. He has already been ticketed, and people have ripped down his flag at least five times. "I have a warehouse on alert, and I'll put up a flag every time they tear one down," Hornick says. Hornick—who says that if Trump loses, he'll rip up his registration card and never vote again—could get 90 days' jail time or a $2,000 fine if he doesn't take down the flag. Hornick says that he has a constitutional right to fly the flag, and the American Civil Liberties Union is supporting him, reports NY 101.5. According to Eugene Volokh at the Washington Post, Hornick is right: Banning political signs or placing similar restrictions on the content of signs violates the First Amendment, Volokh writes, though the city would be within its rights to apply content-neutral restrictions that applied to all signs. (Trump had a rough night Saturday.)