Tim Coil is a Gulf War veteran with PTSD. In early March, he and his wife visited the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library in Ohio so that his wife, Yvette, could study for a test and he could do some reading. While they were there, they saw two military recruiters approaching potential enlistees in a nearby room. Yvette Coil wrote some messages on 3×5 cards: “Don’t fall for it! Military recruiters lie,” and “It’s not honorable to fight for a lying president.” She says that before she displayed the cards through the window, she asked a volunteer for permission. The volunteer directed her to a staff member who said she could display the cards as long as there was “no confrontation.”
There was a confrontation. One of the recruiters asked who put the cards in the window, and Coil said she did it. He then asked for her name, which she refused to give. He then told her and her husband that they could not display the cards anymore. At that point, Mr. Coil questioned whether his freedom of speech was being curtailed, and the recruiter went to find the library director. Ms. Coil placed more cards against the window.
The library director told the Coils that they were disturbing library patrons and could not continue displaying cards. Ms. Coil mentioned that she was a library patron, and the recruiters were disturbing her. The police came and arrested Mr. Coil for disorderly conduct. He has refused to make a plea, and he has refused to pay $100 in court costs. He will appear in court on June 5.
