DENVER—An appeals court ruled that a Colorado man can sue two Secret Service agents who arrested him after he touched former Vice President Dick Cheney on the arm in 2006 and told him his Iraq War policies were “disgusting.”
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that Steven Howards can sue Virgil D. “Gus” Reichle Jr., and Dan Doyle on First Amendment grounds. But the court ruled that two other agents named the lawsuit are immune in the case.
Howards was arrested after he approached Cheney at a mall in Beaver Creek, a resort town west of Denver. The agents alleged that Howards’ contact with Cheney constituted assault but a local prosecutor dropped the case.
Sean R. Gallagher, the attorney for Reichle and Doyle, says he is considering appealing.
