VALDOSTA — Tom Hochschild led a protest Tuesday, fighting what he calls an “issue of free speech” against a Valdosta billboard business.

Hochschild, representing Georgians for the Impeachment of Brian Kemp, said he wanted a billboard displaying the phrase “Stop Voter Suppression” and “Impeach Kemp,” alongside a Republican elephant-imprinted boot crushing the hands of various races reaching out.

He said as per a prior court order, the Roger Budd Company is contractually obligated to put up his design.

“We have a contract signed with the Roger Budd Company saying that our group, Georgians for the Impeachment of Brian Kemp, can put up any billboard or sign that we want,” Hochschild said.

He said the Roger Budd Company is refusing to display the billboard even though the group has a month left with the contract, which came about out of a similar issue.

In 2018, the group, known then as Georgians for the Impeachment of Donald Trump, paid for a billboard reading “Impeach” with a picture of President Donald Trump. It lasted a single day before the Roger Budd Company removed the billboard.

The group sued the Roger Budd Company, resulting in a July 2, 2020, court ruling that required the company to honor a year-long contract with the group, allowing it to put up a billboard at a monthly rate of $430 for 12 months.

Hochschild said the company rejected the Kemp billboard because it now had a policy regarding “negative advertising.”

Hochschild said he believes the Roger Budd Company is trying to stall through the end of the contract. The company has already decided not to renew.

“We are filing a contempt action against Roger Budd, so hopefully the judge and the courts will see he’s not abiding by the court ruling and will force him to comply and put this up,” he said.

Looking back on the “Impeach Donald Trump” sign, Hochschild said his group’s billboard is essentially saying the same thing.

It’s clear there’s a precedent for putting up political signs. The issue is that billboard companies in Lowndes County, and South Georgia as a whole, favor displaying Republican signs, he said.

“They tend not to put up Democrat, liberal or progressive billboards,” he said.

Hochschild, referring to the “Impeach Donald Trump” billboard, said the group tried several other billboard companies before the Roger Budd Company but none of them would put it up.

His group was excited to hear it was going to work with the company, but what’s the point of a contract if parties won’t abide by it, he said.

Michael Noll, a representative of the Valdosta Coalition for Peace and Justice, said the Roger Budd Company’s refusal to display the billboard doubles as a refusal to share all points of view.

He said if you want to have a billboard that’s critical of the Republican Party or a presidential candidate, it’s very hard to get it displayed.

“It is very easy for those that are more of the conservative persuasion to put up their messages,” Noll said. “We should all be able to share our points of views, period.”

David Jonathan “D.J.” Davis, president of the ACTION Sociology Anthropology Club at Valdosta State University, said people must stand up for free speech.

Davis said he’s tried unsuccessfully to reach the Roger Budd Company regarding a different issue – changing the name of Forrest Street and Forrest Street Extension. Budd owns property on the street.

Mark George, coordinator of the Mary Turner Project, said he believes in free speech and sees this as a rejection of it – a rejection of democratic and neighborly values.

“It’s not very neighborly to censor anybody,” George said. “It’s about accountability and whether or not we believe in these values that everyone talks about on conservative radio.”

Refusal to display the group’s billboard is an extension of the media, George said, especially when you live in a place dominated by conservative values that control local broadcasting and signage.

As much as the people there might say they believe in free speech, their actions betray that message, he said.

“The simple question is does Mr. Budd believe in free speech?” George said.

Attempts to reach the Roger Budd Company were met with a “no comment” from a company representative.