Who says judges don’t have a sense of humor? A rancher threatened the Sheriff and a Cattle Inspector. They took exception to the threat and attempted to arrest the rancher. During the arrest, they lit his ass up like a Christmas tree. A local jury decided that the rancher didn’t threaten the Sheriff and Cattle Inspector and acquitted him of all charges.

Thus emboldened the rancher filed a civil suit in Federal Court for excessive force. Man-accused-threatening-sheriff-during-cattle-dispute-acquitted.

The Eighth Circuit ruled in favor of the government. It appears since the jury decided that the threat against the Sheriff and Cattle Inspector was not a threat. The judges decided two could play that game and ruled that the subsequent tree lighting ceremony, with the rancher as the tree, was not excessive force.

Go away you’re bothering us.