Federal judge rules that fake superheroes can continue harassing people on Hollywood Boulevard

Good news for easily impressed tourists and fans of footage of Batman getting drunk and yelling at people: A federal judge has ruled that police cannot target the celebrity impersonators working for tips along Hollywood Boulevard, calling it a constitutionally protected form of free speech. As you may recall, in recent months police had begun cracking down on the faux-Supermen and Jack Sparrows and the like, following reports of aggressive panhandling and also fights. Most of these stemmed from people getting their photos taken with the costumed performers then refusing to pay, and had resulted in over two dozen arrests—sometimes for big things, as when a guy in a Shrek costume got into a fight with a homeless man, and sometimes just for the charge of “blocking the sidewalk .” Anyway, this story is really only worth reporting for the following quote: “’This is a cultural activity,’ said Fikret Sahin, 40, a Turkish immigrant who studies music at Los Angeles City College and occasionally poses as Yoda from Star Wars.” And also, the chance to run this video again: