This man was arrested for anti-police Facebook posts. Then, he sued.

In July 2012, police in the village of Arena (WI) conducted a sweep through the community in search of burglary suspects. According to court documents, some of the messages left in response to Officer Nicholas Stroik’s Facebook post were critical of the local police -- and accused them of racism.

One of those comments was from Thomas Smith, who left profane messages on the Facebook page. Stroik deleted Smith’s comments. Then, a lawsuit claimed, the officer sought Smith’s arrest. Smith, who no longer lives in Wisconsin, the week of Sept 21 settled that federal lawsuit that claimed his civil rights had been violated. He will receive a $35,000 payment from the village and three of its officers, Smith’s attorney announced.