Punishment on Loan from Rush

Published October 19, 2011

A Texas woman says she was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment after her arrest by being forced to listen to talk-show host Rush Limbaugh in the squad car.

The woman says she was arrested by a sheriff’s deputy for driving on the shoulder of a highway, but claims she had merely stopped because her auto engine was steaming.

She was placed in the back seat of the squad car, while the deputy cranked up the sound on Rush’s show on the radio. Limbaugh was making “derogatory comments about black people” during the entire time it took to transport her to jail, she alleges. She’s suing for defamation, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Limbaugh was amused. “This woman doesn’t know how lucky she is. What a great opportunity she had, forced to listen,” he said on the air. “Derogatory comments about black people? We don’t make derogatory comments about black people. We make derogatory comments about liberals,” he said.

According to the woman’s Facebook page, her favorite television shows are MSNBC programs hosted by Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow.

Source: Nina Mandell, “Texas woman sues police department after she was arrested–and forced to listen to Rush Limbaugh,” New York Daily News, via Jonathan Turley.com