WEST LONG BRANCH -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey is helping to defend a Donald Trump enthusiast ticketed for flying flags of support of the Republican presidential front-runner in front of his West Long Branch home.

The ACLU-NJ has teamed up with the attorney for Joseph Hornick to fight alleged ordinance violations in municipal court next month, the civil rights group announced on Thursday.

Hornick was set to appear in municipal court on Wednesday as directed by the ticket he received on March 25 by West Long Branch police, but that court date has been rescheduled to May 18.

Hornick, a former Long Branch firefighter, was cited for violating the borough's ordinance prohibiting political lawn signs from being displayed more than 30 days before an election. The two flags flanking his home have been flying since early March but with New Jersey's presidential primary set for June 7, residents are prohibited from displaying lawn signs before May 9.

Hornick, who is represented by attorney Eric Sherman of New York, contends the ordinance doesn't apply to him because he is flying flags - not displaying lawn signs. Beyond that, he argues, the ordinance violates his constitutional right to freedom of expression.

The ordinance calls for fines of up to $2,000 or 90 days in jail for violations.

"There's no ordinance that can overrule the Constitution," said ACLU-NJ Deputy Legal Director Jeanne LoCicero. "It doesn't matter whether it's a lawn sign or a flag - you have the right to express your political beliefs every day of the year, no matter how close it is to Election Day. West Long Branch needs to realize that unless it takes this policy off the books, it's violating the Constitution."

The ACLU-NJ had most recently challenged restrictions on the timing of political signs in the past in the case of a Ron Paul supporter in Hawthorne during the 2008 presidential election. The Passaic County community rescinded the lawn-sign ordinance in August 2008 after the resident was ordered to remove his signs in February 2008.

Many communities have passed lawn sign ordinances to try to control the proliferation of the signs before and after elections, but the ACLU has said the laws having a chilling effect on free speech.

ACLU-NJ Legal Director Ed Barocas said towns should review their sign ordinances to make sure they don't include unlawful restrictions.

MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.