An appeals court in the northern United States has allowed a group of zombie-dressed protesters to press ahead with their lawsuit against police who arrested them for disorderly conduct.
The Minneapolis appeals court in Minnesota overturned a lower court in finding the group of seven zombies had been wrongfully detained during a 2006 shopping mall protest against consumerism.
The three-judge panel ruled Minneapolis police lacked probable cause to arrest the demonstrators for disorderly conduct.
At the time of the protest, the zombies were wearing make-up including white face powder, fake blood and black circles around their eyes that gave them a "living dead" look.
They lurched stiff-legged through the halls of the mall, urging shoppers to "get your brains here" and "brain clean-up in aisle five".
The protesters carried audio equipment in various bags, including loudspeakers and wireless phone handsets, which police described as "simulated weapons of mass destruction".
But the appeals court sided with the protesters in ruling police had no reason to imprison them for two nights simply for "dressing as zombies and walking erratically in downtown Minneapolis".
"An objectively reasonable person would not think probable cause exists under the Minnesota disorderly conduct statue to arrest a group of peaceful people for engaging in an artistic protest by playing music, broadcasting statements and dressing as zombies," the appeals court ruled.
The decision allows the protesters to revive their lawsuit against Minneapolis and its police.
Original story can be found here.
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