Only in America: Demand a public vote and go directly to jail

A man is arrested for protesting his town's red-light cameras — and more in our collection of strange revelations about the nation

Demand a public vote and go directly to jail
(Image credit: Courtesy Shutterstock)

A Florida man was arrested and jailed for protesting his town's red-light cameras. Police in Apopka demanded Mark E. Schmidter's identification, handcuffed him, and charged him with a "pedestrian violation" for handing out pamphlets calling for a public vote on the cameras, which he says are a scam to raise money. "I asked him if he had a permit to protest the red-light cameras, and he said no," said the arresting officer.

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Samantha Rollins

Samantha Rollins is TheWeek.com's news editor. She has previously worked for The New York Times and TIME and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.