Milwaukee Couple Wins Fight to Keep 12-Foot Skeletons in Front Yard After $500-a-Day Fine Threat

A Wisconsin couple is celebrating a big win after city officials backed down in a fight over their beloved giant front-yard skeletons.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Thursday, July 9, that Sean Oster and his wife, Laura, had been facing $500-per-day fines after South Milwaukee inspectors flagged their towering 12-foot skeleton display as a ‘code violation’ in May.

ABC affiliate WISN reported that the Osters bought the skeletons two years ago and have kept them on display ever since, dressing them up for different holidays and adding to the scene over time.

Oster said the display has received a positive nod from most neighbors. “Pretty much 98 percent positive feedback from everybody,” Oster told the outlet. “We have [a] Fourth of July 250th theme right now.”

City officials warned the couple they had until July 7 to remove the skeletons, nicknamed Hector and Henrietta by fans, or face mounting daily penalties, according to the official press release from the Institute for Justice.

Inspectors argued the decorations were on display “not during the appropriate time of the year.” The Osters pushed back hard, and the case drew the attention of the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm that fired off a letter to city officials arguing the crackdown was a clear First Amendment violation.

Attorney Jimmy Odell pulled no punches. “This is punishment based on the content of their speech, which is as clear of a First Amendment violation as they come,” he wrote.

Odell added the couple would have faced no issues had they “swapped out their skeletons for a bald eagle display for the Fourth of July.”

City officials ultimately dropped the matter. According to NBC affiliate TMJ4, South Milwaukee released a statement Wednesday confirming that the case had been closed after the property passed reinspection. Officials clarified the city “does not regulate how a resident chooses to decorate a home.”

Sean credited the groundswell of community support for the win. “Having the Institute for Justice behind us combined with the public support, we were able to overcome and continue the tradition,” he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

He marked the victory on Facebook by declaring July 10 “Hector and Henrietta’s Day of Freedom,” a date he said the family will now celebrate every year.