DHS, NSA Czars attack small business for the right to parody them on mugs, T-shirts

Man sues DHS, NSA for the right to parody them on mugs, T-shirts | Ars Technica

For 10 years, a Minnesota man has been selling T-shirts, mugs, and other items with slogans like “Department of Homeland Stupidity” and “The NSA: the only part of the government that listens.”

In 2011, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency sent a cease-and-desist order against Zazzle, the original manufacturer of these items for the website LibertyManiacs.com. 

The government agencies argued that it is a crime to use, mutilate, or alter a government seal without permission. (The site has now switched over to CafePress.)

....“The agencies’ attempts to forbid McCall from displaying and selling his merchandise are inconsistent with the First Amendment,” said Paul Alan Levy, the Public Citizen attorney handling the case, in astatement.
“It’s bad enough that these agencies have us under constant surveillance; forbidding citizens from criticizing them is beyond the pale.”