David Justin Freeman was convicted of disorderly conduct after silently raising his middle finger during a church service and later yelling about public schools as people left. He challenged the Georgia disorderly-conduct statute as vague and overbroad and argued that his conduct was protected expression. The Supreme Court of Georgia held that the word “tumultuous,” read with the requirement that the conduct place another person in reasonable fear for life, limb, or health, gave adequate notice and did not invite arbitrary enforcement. The court also construed the statute narrowly so that expressive conduct could support a conviction only when it amounted to unprotected fighting words or a true threat. Freeman’s silent gesture, without additional threatening conduct, did not meet that standard and was protected by the First Amendment. The evidence was therefore insufficient, and the court reversed the conviction without permitting a retrial.