It is not illegal to flip off a police officer in Wisconsin. The act of giving a police officer the middle finger is generally considered protected speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Federal courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, have affirmed that expressing discontent through this gesture is a form of speech and, while rude or disrespectful, it is not a crime in itself.
A police officer cannot lawfully stop, ticket, or arrest you solely for making this gesture. Doing so would violate your constitutional rights, and any such stop or search based solely on the gesture would likely be considered unlawful. In Wisconsin, as in other states, the courts have recognized that “fits of rudeness or lack of gratitude may violate the Golden Rule, but that doesn’t make them illegal or for that matter punishable”.
However, there are circumstances where flipping off a police officer could potentially lead to legal trouble. If your gesture is accompanied by behavior that could be interpreted as disorderly conduct—such as causing or provoking a disturbance, using profane language in a way that incites violence, or interfering with police duties—then you could be cited under Wisconsin’s disorderly conduct laws. But the gesture alone, without more, does not meet the threshold for criminal conduct.
While flipping off a cop in Wisconsin is not illegal and is protected by the First Amendment, it is not advisable, as it may escalate tensions or prompt an officer to look for other legitimate reasons to detain or cite you. The gesture itself, though offensive, is not grounds for arrest or citation unless it is part of a larger pattern of disruptive or unlawful behavior.
Sources
[1] https://www.shubinlaw.com/flipping-off-police-officers-constitutional-federal-court-affirms/
[2] https://www.wisbar.org/newspublications/wisconsinlawyer/pages/Article.aspx?Volume=92&Issue=4&ArticleID=26972
[3] https://www.wirthlawoffice.com/tulsa-attorney-blog/2021/04/can-i-legally-flip-off-the-police
[4] https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/is-it-illegal-to-give-someone-the-middle-finger-in-2930939.html
[5] https://www.reddit.com/r/fuckthepolice/comments/1id2l1q/just_got_pulled_over_by_a_cop_while_running_for/
