Is it illegal in SC to flip someone the bird or call them an @&$##%! while driving?
You’re driving down the highway and someone cuts you off.
Of course it makes you angry, so you roll down the window and do the one-finger wave to let the driver know your displeasure.
But wait. Can you be arrested in South Carolina for yelling obscenities at other drivers or flipping them the bird?
Surprisingly, yes. However, there are some caveats.
A person using profane language in public could be charged with public disorderly conduct under state law. Known as disturbing the peace, the law is mainly used for public intoxication or firing a gun within 50 yards of any public roadway. However, it also includes using “obscene or profane language on any highway or at any public place or gathering or in hearing distance of a schoolhouse or church.”
If found guilty, it could result in a misdemeanor charge with $100 fine or 30 days in jail.
But what about giving someone the middle finger?
Courts have ruled that the obscene gesture falls under freedom of speech.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled in 2019 in a case that involved a person flipping off a police officer, that the gesture is protected as free speech under the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
That doesn’t mean you still couldn’t be charged with other things, but not solely on that gesture.
In addition to state law, Horry County cities also have their own ordinances.
In Myrtle Beach, it’s against the law to make or utter or direct toward a person “any lewd, obscene or profane or libelous expletive or epithets or ‘fighting’ words ... likely to provoke violent reactions.”
