Harassed by two members of the California Highway Patrol, First Amendment Freedom of Speech was upheld Thursday by Indivisible Santa Barbara. On the afternoon of September 24, two CHP officers took it upon themselves to attempt to intimidate and silence members of the public, members of Indivisible Santa Barbara. The CHP demanded signs be taken down and reported Indivisible members to the FBI. Their crime? Holding up signs on the Micheltorena overpass that said “8647.”
CHP Officer Ayala ordered the signs be taken down and said, “You can’t wish death upon the president.” Indivisible Santa Barbara has consistently maintained a nonviolent and peaceful ethos in every action we have taken.
It is settled law that “8647” is protected speech. The controlling case on this issue, Accountability NOW USA v. Griess (United States District Court, filed June 1, 2026), states that the message “8647” is protected free speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
(https://www.acludc.org/app/uploads/2026/04/TRO-grant.pdf).
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche has even declared that the public may display “8647” signs without fear of prosecution, stating that these messages are “posted constantly — that phrase is used constantly.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/03/us/politics/blanche-comey-indictment-seashells.html.
As they left the scene, the supervising CHP Sergeant Olsen assured the protesters that they could continue to post the American flag and the other signs they had been forced to take down, like “Protect our vote” and “Register to vote” — with the exception of the sign bearing the “8647” message.
The right to protest peacefully and display of signs on highway overpasses is constitutionally protected under case law going back more than 20 years. See Brown v. California Dept. of Transp., 260 F.Supp.2d 959, 968 (N.D. Cal. 2003) (government objections to the display of signage on highway overpasses must be viewpoint neutral). In a video recording taken by one of the Indivisible protestors, the officers claimed that the poster violated the law. “There are certain signs you can’t post,” one of the officers can be heard saying in the recording. They are not just wrong, their behavior is chilling.
The attempted intimidation of Indivisible failed. We will continue to assert our First Amendment rights of freedom of speech despite threats of FBI reports and local CHP harassment.
We still have courts and the Constitution. The “8647 signs” will still be displayed. These couple of rogue officers, who under color of authority demanded that protected speech be stopped, desperately need training on citizens’ rights. The officers should know that their job is traffic enforcement and public safety not thought policing.
Indivisible Santa Barbara has held weekly protests at this same overpass — and the neighboring overpass on La Cumbre Road — for more than a year, in full view and with the knowledge of local and county law enforcement and the Highway Patrol. Indivisible Santa Barbara will continue these protests and invites the public to join us on the Micheltorena and La Cumbre overpasses each Thursday afternoon and early evening.
For more information, please go to Indivisiblesb.org.
Indivisible Santa Barbara is a nonprofit organization based in Santa Barbara that is part of the nationwide Indivisible movement, with a strict and unwavering commitment to nonviolence and a mission to elect progressive leaders, rebuild our democracy, and defeat the Trump agenda.
