YouTuber sues Kingsport police, claims retaliation for online videos

KINGSPORT — A lawsuit filed against the City of Kingsport and the Kingsport Police Department claims officers retaliated against a local YouTuber who posted videos online criticizing their behavior.The complaint, filed in 2023 and still moving through the litigation process, came after an incident in 2022 where YouTuber Joshua Gibbons was arrested by Kingsport police officers and his home was raided.It argues that officers violated Gibbons' First and Fourth Amendment rights by retaliating against him.The complaint states that Gibbons had posted two videos involving Kingsport officers — one showing an officer giving Gibbons the middle finger and another showing a police car speeding into Pal's without lights or sirens.After the videos began circulating online, someone from the public filed a complaint about the officer's behavior. The complaint states that the KPD then scoured Gibbons' YouTube channel, "hunting for some — any — basis to arrest him."The KPD later charged Gibbons with speeding and unlawful use of a cellphone while driving. He was also charged with disorderly conduct based on his interactions with the officer, during which he confronted the officer about speeding into Pal's.Eight officers then went to Gibbons' home at 5 a.m. the next day, where he was arrested and taken to jail, according to the complaint.The traffic charges were later dismissed and Gibbons was convicted of disorderly conduct in General Sessions court. The complaint states that case is under appeal.Gibbons is represented by an attorney from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a national civil liberties organization focused on free speech."We believe the department violated Mr. Gibbons' constitutional rights," Gibbons' attorney, Adam Steinbaugh, said in a statement. "It spent significant public resources to retaliate against him for embarrassing the department online, including sending a team of officers to raid his home before dawn and going through two trials over a thirty-second encounter. We look forward to vindicating Mr. Gibbons' rights."The lawsuit names the City of Kingsport and seven police officers, including Dale Phipps, who was chief at the time of the incident and has since retired, and Jason Bellamy, who was then deputy chief and now serves as chief of police.According to the complaint, the department broke from its usual practice of issuing citations for minor traffic violations and instead chose to arrest and prosecute Gibbons."Purposefully adding insult to injury, Kingsport police elected not to issue a ticket and criminal summons to Gibbons, but deliberately chose to arrest him in his home at 5:00 a.m. in front of his elderly mother and his daughter," the complaint states.The lawsuit also claims the arrest occurred without probable cause and that the department's response had a chilling effect on Gibbons' ability to film and publish content about police.Both the Kingsport Police Department and the City of Kingsport declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.