Bigfoot stepped up with a lawsuit, alleging that the park’s permit regulations are unconstitutional.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court next month will hear Doyle’s complaint. Though many elements of the dispute border on the absurd, the case raises some serious free speech issues.
“What this suit is about for us is preserving the right of the little guy to express himself artistically,’’ said Barbara Keshen, a lawyer with the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Foundation, which is representing Doyle.
Doyle, of Keene, is seeking the right to return to Monadnock with his costume and camera, and to have the court declare that the state cannot regulate his small-scale speech.
By pushing his complaint to the Granite State’s highest court, “I am maintaining the integrity of being real, enjoying day-to-day things, and having fun with your friends,’’ Doyle said in an interview. “If I let that go, I’ve given up a significant right to the state.’’
The 31-year-old Doyle falls under the catchall euphemism of a free spirit: He’s an artist, writer, and day laborer who sells art and designs commercial logos, while he makes a living drilling wells and building fences. On his “Legends of Monadnock’’ blog, Doyle interprets the proverbs of William Blake. Last winter he packed up and went to St. Thomas to work as a waiter.
“Jon is indeed a contemporary renaissance man,’’ said his friend and fellow artist, Alex Gutterman, who met Doyle several years ago when they studied Aikido together. “He’s kind of a futurist, very interested in developing technologies and how they impact human consciousness, as well as the arts. He’s interested in the sciences, and in spiritual inquiry. And of course he has the normal interests of a young man, such as wine, women, and song.’’
In Doyle’s free speech case, few facts are in dispute.
He hiked the mountain on a sunny September day in 2009, donned the Bigfoot costume at the summit, and hammed it up for some photographs. Still in costume, he interviewed hikers and filmed their tongue-in-cheek responses. Doyle posted the video on the Internet. He said he was tickled by the feedback.
