Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe CLACKAMAS, Ore., March 1 (UPI) -- An Oregon man's lawsuit against Clackamas County sheriff's deputies claims his First Amendment rights to display his middle finger were violated. Robert Ekas, 46, said flipping the bird to sheriff's deputies in 2007 led to multiple verbal showdowns with deputies as well as traffic violations that the federal suit claims were retaliation for his silent, one-fingered statements, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Monday. Advertisement "I did it because I have the right to do it," Ekas said. "We all have that right, and we all need to test it. Otherwise we'll lose it." The lawsuit claims traffic tickets he received for an improper lane change and improperly displaying his license plate -- citations later dismissed in court -- were retaliation for flashing his middle finger at the deputies. Ekas, a mathematician who is representing himself in the case, is seeking corrective action and unspecified damages from the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office and three of its employees.
