Jurors sided with rapper Afroman in a lawsuit in which several Ohio officers accused him of defamation and sought $3.9 million in damages, according to multiple reports.

His lawsuit came after Afroman, whose legal name is Joseph Foreman, turned the 2022 Adams County sheriff’s deputies’ raid on his home into musical content, including his songs and the corresponding music videos for “lemon cake“ “Will you help me repair my door?” and the incredibly misogynistic “Licc’em Low Lisa.””(the name of one of the officers).

The search warrant cited suspicions of drug trafficking and kidnapping. However, the raid, during which authorities pulled out their guns and confiscated more than $5,000 and other property from Foreman, ultimately did not result in charges against the rapper.

“I have freedom of speech. After they ran through my house with guns and broke down my door, I have the right to kick a can in my backyard, use my freedom of speech and turn my bad times into good times, yes, I do,” Foreman, a former presidential candidate, said in court Tuesday, Billboard reported. “And I think I’m a sportsman for doing it, because I don’t go to his house, I’ll break down his doors. [and] Then try to play the victim and sue them.”

Afroman performs on stage at the Snoop Dogg Puff Puff Pass Tour at the Hard Rock Event Center in Hollywood, Florida on December 20, 2018 in Hollywood, Florida.
Afroman performs on stage at the Snoop Dogg Puff Puff Pass Tour at the Hard Rock Event Center in Hollywood, Florida on December 20, 2018 in Hollywood, Florida.

Johnny Louis via Getty Images

The officers, Lisa Phillips, Shawn D. Cooley, Justin Cooley, Michael D. Estep, Shawn S. Grooms, Brian Newland and Randolph L. Walters, Jr., claim they have faced “threats, including death threats” and “emotional distress” as a result of Foreman’s music and videos, Billboard added.

In a 2023 amicus brief, the American Civil Liberties Union said the lawsuit was “nothing short of absurd.”

“This case is a classic entry into the genre of SLAPP lawsuits: a meritless effort to use a lawsuit to silence criticism. And not just any criticism, but criticism specifically of government actors,” the brief also states. “Plaintiffs do not identify the substance of any particular statement in the videos – or anywhere else – that they claim is false. Instead, the central focus of their lawsuit is that Mr. Foreman is making money from his video comments and related products, and is harshly criticizing plaintiffs in the process. That is not unlawful conduct; it is protected speech.”

The legal battle has not deterred the Los Angeles-born “Because I Got High” rapper. On Sunday he released “BATTERAM HYMN OF THE POLICE WHISTLE BLOWER,” in which he continued rapping and mocking the raid.