Alabama Grandmother Faces Trial Over Inflatable Penis Costume

Renea Gamble, a 62-year-old grandmother and ASL interpreter, is scheduled to face trial on April 15, 2026, in Fairhope, Alabama, following her arrest during a No Kings protest on October 18, 2025. Gamble was arrested while wearing a seven-foot-tall inflatable penis costume that featured an American flag and a handmade sign reading No Dick Tator.

The arrest was captured on body camera footage from Fairhope Police Cpl. Andrew Babb. In the video, Babb is seen exiting his vehicle and approaching Gamble, whom he ordered to remove the costume. When Gamble refused, invoking her First Amendment rights, Babb told her, That’s not freedom of speech. This is a family town and being dressed like that is not going to be tolerated.

According to the footage, Gamble repeatedly asked if she was being detained and stated she would leave if she was not. As she turned to walk away, Babb grabbed the costume from behind and threw her onto her back. Two other officers assisted in pinning Gamble to the grass and handcuffing her. The footage also shows Gamble screaming in pain as officers attempted to push her into the back of a police vehicle, while police struggled to fit the oversized inflatable costume into the car.

Legal Charges and Prosecution

Following the October 18, 2025, incident, Gamble was briefly jailed and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest before being released on a $500 bond. However, the city of Fairhope later added charges of disturbing the peace and giving a false name to law enforcement.

Municipal Court Prosecutor and city attorney Marcus McDowell filed a clarification stating that members of the public had called police regarding traffic safety issues, and that Gamble thereby created a substantial traffic and safety hazard by dressing as a giant penis.

Gamble’s attorney, civil rights lawyer David Gespass, has called the prosecution absurd and filed a motion to dismiss the charges. Gespass argued that the arrest was based on Babb’s own prejudices and that no provision of Fairhope’s disorderly conduct ordinance applied to Gamble’s attire or actions. Municipal Judge Haymes Snedeker denied the motion to dismiss.

Gespass also attempted to subpoena records from a Mobile-based talk radio station poll that had elected Gamble’s costume as the Alabamian of the Year. The defense argued that because the arrest was based on an accusation of obscenity, the poll demonstrated that the costume did not violate contemporary community standards. Judge Snedeker denied this subpoena request.

Political and Community Context

The arrest occurred during a rally organized by the local Indivisible chapter, which launched in 2025. The event attracted approximately 1,000 people to Baldwin County, a predominantly white, rural area of Alabama and a stronghold of support for President Donald Trump. Organizer Kayleigh Rae stated that the high turnout and the presence of local residents helped combat narratives that protesters were paid agitators bused in from outside the region.

The protest included other costumes, such as unicorns and a blow-up chicken, inspired by the Frog Brigade anti-ICE protests in Portland. Fairhope city leadership, however, condemned the display. Mayor Sherry Sullivan told reporters that protests should remain peaceful and free of profanity and obscene displays, adding that such behavior will not be tolerated in Fairhope. City Council President Jack Burrell stated the costume violated community standards.

The legal battle coincides with broader tensions in Fairhope regarding censorship and free expression. The Alabama Public Library Service recently stripped funding from the Fairhope Public Library after the library refused to move books with LGBTQ+ subject matter to the adult section, a move requested by right-wing activists. This conflict has been linked to the Fairhope Faith Collective, led by a former Moms for Liberty activist who described the No Kings protest as a failure of local politicians to uphold conservative values and suggested Gamble’s conduct was typical ANTIFA behavior.

Despite the city leadership’s stance, some residents have opposed the defunding of the library, citing Fairhope’s history as a utopian experiment founded in the late 1800s by independent thinkers, artists, and writers. The city, often nicknamed Mayberry on the Bay, has a long-standing identity as a haven for the arts.

Public Reaction and Recent Activity

Videos of Gamble’s arrest became viral sensations on TikTok and were featured on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. The incident prompted a caption contest by a local political cartoonist and led to Gamble becoming a local celebrity known as Fairhope’s Penis Lady.

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On March 28, 2026, a subsequent No Kings protest drew nearly 1,200 participants. The event was advertised as the Official Site of #PenisGate and featured signs with puns about free speech and hot dogs. Gamble attended the rally, though she remained masked with sunglasses and a bandana to maintain a low profile while her prosecution is pending.

During the March 28 rally, Gamble again wore an inflatable costume, this time appearing as an eggplant while carrying her original No Dick Tator sign.