A Vermont man arrested and charged with a crime for giving a state trooper the middle finger has settled a lawsuit with the state claiming his First Amendment rights were violated.

Gregory Bombard, 57, of St. Albans, Vermont, filed the suit in 2021, saying his rights were violated after an unnecessary traffic stop and retaliatory arrest in 2018, according to The Associated Press.

According to the lawsuit, Trooper Jay Riggen stopped Bombard’s vehicle in St. Albans on Feb. 9, 2018.

Bombard told Vermont Public that this is how the stop went:

Bombard said Riggen asked, “You need something?” after he was pulled over.

Bombard said he had no idea what he’d done wrong. He said Riggen said that it appeared that Bombard had flipped him the middle finger as he passed him in traffic moments earlier.

Bombard denied he had done that, saying the officer may have mistaken the way he held a cigarette for showing him the middle finger. Riggen told Bombard he had stuck his middle finger “up in my face.”

The middle finger gesture is considered lewd.

Bombard suggested the officer may be “sensitive,” something Riggen said was not the case.

“So, I have a question,” Bombard said he said. “If someone flipped you off, what is the citation? What is the crime?”

Riggen replied that the gesture could be a way to get an officer’s attention if someone needed help, or could be a gesture indicating they “need to have a conversation.”

“Obviously, it’s not normal behavior, so I’m going to have that conversation,” Bombard said Riggen replied.

Bombard told Riggen he planned to file a complaint against him as Riggen returned to his car.

As he pulled back into traffic, Bombard admitted that he showed Riggen his middle finger and called out an expetive and another lewd phrase.

Riggen pulled Bombard over again and told him he was going to arrest him for disorderly conduct.

Bombard was placed on the ground and handcuffed, then taken to the state police barracks to be processed, according to The New York Times. The state police put out a press release about the arrest, including Bombard’s mug shot, Bombard said.

He was jailed for more than an hour, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. The charge was eventually dismissed.

Bombard filed suit over the arrest and a settlement was reached earlier this month. Vermont agreed to pay Bombard $100,000 and $75,000 to the ACLU of Vermont and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression for legal fees.

“While our client is pleased with this outcome, this incident should never have happened in the first place,” Hillary Rich, staff attorney for the ACLU of Vermont, said in a statement. “Police need to respect everyone’s First Amendment rights — even for things they consider offensive or insulting.”

The Vermont State Police declined to discuss the case. Riggen took an occupational-disability-related retirement on May 31, a week before the settlement was signed.

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