First Amendment

A Tennessee 1st Amendment Auditor Is Suing After Videos of Police Led to a Predawn Arrest Raid

Joshua Gibbons says his embarrassing videos of police officers in Kingsport, Tennessee, were a motivating factor in their decision to arrest him on minor charges that were thrown out of court.

C.J. Ciaramella | 9.24.2026 12:32 PM

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(The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression)

A Tennessee man is suing a local police department for allegedly violating his First Amendment rights after videos he uploaded of an officer speeding led to the man being arrested in a predawn raid.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a free speech advocacy group, announced Tuesday that it is representing Joshua Gibbons in a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Kingsport, Tennessee, the Kingsport police chief, and several individual officers.

Kingsport officers arrested Gibbons, who frequently films Kingsport officers and uploads the videos to his YouTube channel, in October 2022 on charges of disorderly conduct, speeding, and using a cellphone while driving. However, after nearly four years, all the charges were tossed out. Gibbons' lawsuit alleges that his recordings and criticism of the department were motivating factors in Kingsport officers' decision to arrest him.

"They tried to intimidate me, but I'm not backing down," Gibbons said in a FIRE press release. "I can't let this injustice stand, because my family doesn't feel safe anymore. There's no coming back from that raid on our home. They sent eight heavily armed officers to arrest me because I embarrassed them."

On October 9, 2022, Gibbons recorded a Kingsport police sergeant who appeared to be speeding in........

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