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Politics

Politics : Philadelphia Eleven Case

The Claim: Christians were arrested for peacefully sharing the gospel

 What happened per Christian resources…?

 Usually the tale is told of 11 peaceful protesters who peacefully were carrying signs and singing hymns at a Philadelphia Outfest event.  (Outfest is a gay pride festival)   They were confronted by the “Pink Angels” They were eventually arrested by the police for “preaching the gospel”.  This has also been listed as ‘grandma got run over by a hate crimes law’ which refers to the fact that one of those arrested was a 75 year old grandmother.

What really happened?  Were they peacefully sharing the gospel?  

 To see what really happened you will need to view the video at youtube.com of them and their confrontation with the crowd and the police.  Make special note of the bullhorn they were using.   Apparently the bullhorn is a tool that they use for peacefully singing hymns and sharing the gospel. Observe the video carefully at the end and you will see them begin to be carried off by the police physically because they refused police instruction and refused to move.  (So much for the claim that they complied with police instruction)  

Also quoting from the official court documents: “Prior to his arrest, Marcavage lay on the ground in a form of civil disobedience.  . .”

References below... 

Court document from later court action by the group against the city. 

Video link… 

http://video.google.com/videoplay? docid=3123736525132734687&q=philadelphia+eleven&total=43& &num=10&so=0&&plindex=0

Link no longer active .. try this link instead.

What else happened at the event?

 In the following video we see an entirely new method of peacefully sharing the gospel.  It’s called: 'Insult the appearance of the people you are witnessing to'.  References are made to an individual, apparently transgender, who needs a shave.  

The exact quote from court documents is here: "At this point in  time, plaintiff Diener engaged a transgendered attendee in  conversation,calling the individual a “she-man” and saying “The  mirror lied to you this morning. Your shadow is showing.” . The  individual argued back with Diener and the conversation ended by  Diener warning the transgendered individual that “You won’t be  preaching like this in hell, she-man.” (from Event Video.)


Who was the group that was arrested?


The group that was arrested is not just some group of private citizens. They are part of a group called Repent America.  They  have a web site.  A brief review of their organization as well as a  link to their web page is available here.

What were they arrested for?  

This incident happened on Oct 10 of 2004.

They were charged with...

1. “ethnic intimidation” (2nd-degree felony “hate crime”).
2. “criminal conspiracy” (1st-degree felony).
 3. “possession of instruments of crime” (1st-degree  misdemeanor).
 4. “reckless endangerment of another person” (2nd-degree  felony). 
5.  “riot” (3rd-degree felony). 
6.  “failure to disperse” (2nd-degree misdemeanor). 
7.  “disorderly conduct” (2nd-degree misdemeanor). 
8.  “obstructing a highway” (3rd-degree misdemeanor).,

As can be seen from the above list and from  the videos they were  arrested for much more than their speech.

Did they win their case or did they go to jail?

 They spent 21 hours in jail.  This happened when they refused  police instruction (see below)  Later that fall charges were  dismissed against seven of the group.  In February of 2005  charges were dismissed against the remaining 4 with the judge  citing free speech rights as guaranteed by the constitution.

What exactly happened at Outfest according to court  documents?
 

Here is a site for the official court documents.

Here are excerpts from the above mentioned document..

Plaintiffs entered OutFest at 13th Street and began to “convey their  message” about 20 yards from the main stage at 13th and Locust  Streets. Pls’ Summ. Uncontested Facts ¶19; Fisher Dep. pp. 67-68.

The Philly Pride volunteers surrounded the plaintiffs holding ten- foot high pink Styrofoam boards shaped like angels at the top and  blowing whistles.  Pls’ Summ. Uncontested Facts ¶¶ 20-21.

Captain Fisher instructed the plaintiffs to move down the street so  they would not block the stage once the musical program began  and the plaintiffs complied. Id. ¶¶ 24-25.

Captain Fisher escorted the plaintiffs further north on 13th Street  toward Walnut Street. Id. ¶ 25. The Philly Pride volunteers followed  with their Pink Angel signs and continued to surround the plaintiffs.  Municipal Defs’ Statement Undisputed Facts ¶ 9.

At this point in time, plaintiff Diener engaged a transgendered  attendee in conversation, calling the individual a “she-man” and  saying “The mirror lied to you this morning. Your shadow is  showing.” Id. ¶ 16. The individual argued back with Diener and the  conversation ended by Diener warning the transgendered  individual that “You won’t be preaching like this in hell, she-man.”  Event Video.

Thousands of people were present at the event and at this point,  Captain Fisher characterized the crowd as volatile and irate. Fisher  Dep. pp.85-87.

The Police and defendant Simmons told plaintiffs they had to move  because they were blocking attendees’ access to the vendors’  booths. Pls’ Summ. Uncontested Facts ¶ 28. Simmons Dep. pp.  72-76; Fisher Dep. p. 88, Tiano Dep. pp. 76-77.

Chief Inspector 7  James Tiano ordered plaintiffs to relocate to  13th and Walnut Street, an area on the perimeter of OutFest near a  large gay bar named “Woody’s,” a popular event location.  Pls’  Summ. Uncontested Facts ¶ 34; Tiano Dep. pp.78-80.

Plaintiff Marcavage  responded that the group was not leaving the  event. Municipal Defs’ Statement  Undisputed Facts ¶ 22.

Marcavage, the leader of the group, instructed plaintiffs to move   in a different direction than the one the police requested. Id. ¶ 37- 41; Marcavage Dep.  pp. 354-55.

Chief Tiano ordered that the police place the plaintiffs under arrest  for  disorderly conduct, disobeying the order of a police officer, and  related charges.  Municipal Defs’ Statement Undisputed Facts ¶

29. Prior to his arrest, Marcavage lay on the ground in a form of civil  disobedience. Id. ¶ 30. The police arrested plaintiffs at  approximately 1:30 p.m. after they had been at OutFest for less  than 30 minutes. Id. ¶¶ 43, 45. Plaintiffs were incarcerated for 21  hours; all criminal charges were ultimately dismissed.5 Id. ¶¶ 44,  46.


Portions of the courts response is as follows..
 
A. Plaintiffs’ First Amendment Claim. 

The right to speak and assemble in public places is not without  limits. “The rights of free speech and assembly, while fundamental  in our democratic society, still do not mean that everyone with  opinions or beliefs to express may address a group at any public  place and at any time. The constitutional guarantee of liberty  implies the existence of an organized society maintaining public  order, without which liberty itself would be lost in the excesses of  anarchy.” Cox v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 536, 554 (1965)…..

 C. Plaintiffs’ Equal Protection Claim 

….. Plaintiffs contend that they were similarly situated to the Philly  Pride volunteers, yet treated differently. Pls’ Resp. Municipal Defs’  Mot. Summ. J. pp. 16-17. According to plaintiffs, the municipal defendants permitted the Philly Pride volunteers “unfettered  access to the public ways at Outfest” while denying plaintiffs  access. Id. p. 16. The record does not support this assertion of  selective treatment. The municipal defendants restricted the  actions of both groups. The “distinction” between the groups is that  the Philly Pride volunteers complied with police directives while the  plaintiffs did not. The police directed the Philly Pride volunteers to  break their human barricade and allow plaintiffs into the event or  they would be arrested. The Philly Pride volunteers complied.  In  contrast, the plaintiffs disobeyed direct police orders concerning  their movements at OutFest. They were confrontational to the police and to certain OutFest participants.  Plaintiffs cannot show  “selective treatment” at the hands of the police. ……

D. Plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment Claims 

Plaintiffs raise Fourth Amendment claims of unreasonable  seizure, false arrest, and malicious prosecution stemming from  plaintiffs’ arrest12 on October 10, 2004. municipal defendants  contend, in this summary judgment motion, they had probable  cause to arrest plaintiffs for disorderly conduct, failure to disperse,  and obstructing a highway and therefore plaintiffs’ Fourth  Amendment claims must fail.13 

For the rest of the courts response you can read the full  document.    Here is the reference again.


My take on this…

 As can be seen easily by viewing youtube videos there are street preachers everywhere that preach at gay pride events. (see link)

They are not arrested for what they preach though they may get in  trouble for some of their actions.   Additionally I recommend you do  a youtube search for Fred Phelps.  Again, no arrests have been made of Fred Phelps.  

So what was this group doing that got them arrested?  From the court documents we see that they willfully refused police instruction by deliberately going in the opposite direction.  They were arrested for a variety of charges not just the hate crime law.  If  you check out their web site you will find that getting arrested seems to be a distinctive characteristic of this group.

Let’s reverse the situation for a moment.  Let’s assume that  Christian groups decided to hold a Billy Graham crusade on the  streets of Philadelphia.  Let’s assume they obtained a permit to do  so.  But in the middle of their crusades, Gay activists invaded the  crusade armed with bullhorns and signs that condemned  Christians for homophobia.  Would we be applauding their free  speech?  I don’t think so.  In fact I can hear now all the complaints  that would be raised about the so called homosexual agenda and  their desire to attack churches.

So what we have here is Christians behaving badly and then crying  about free speech rights. Somehow I can’t see Jesus in any of  these actions.  Jesus attracted sinners.  He did not repel them.   Jesus treated sinners graciously, he did not get into verbal  arguments with them and tell them they were going to hell.  Jesus  taught and the Apostle Paul also taught  that we should seek to live  at peace with the civil authorities.  That was not demonstrated by  this group.

An even bigger concern.. 

We get so lost in the legals we forget our mission….

What kind of witness is this group to.. 

  • the outfest participants
  • the police
  • the courts
  • the world


In light of the facts I would have to say that their witness is a terrible  one .. an affront to Christ and to His gospel.  

 Various resources are listed here so you can read for yourself  what is being said 

 --Prr news sources and books and videos.. 

http://www.oneby1.org/summer2007.pdf  (no longer active)

--peacefully carried signs and sang hymns…. 

http://www.cultureandfamily.org/articledisplay.asp? id=6522&department=CFI&categoryid=family  (no longer active)

--showed up to sing hymns and carry signs peacefully…..

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/news/050210a.aspx  NEW LINK

--calls it “the  Criminalization of Christianity” 

DVD: Hate Crimes Laws – Censoring the Church and Silencing  Christians DVD by Family Research Council

above video raises concern that one of those arrested was an  elderly senior.  By title of video makes claim that the church is  censored by listing actions of private citizens.  

--Grandma got run over by a Hate Crimes law... 

http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000005251.cfm  NEW LINK

Other Resources... 

--Snopes commentary... LINK

charged with hate crime for preaching the gospel per the AFA ...  Bill Reilly questions whether this is really helpful for spreading the  gospel.


List of court cases that repent America is involved in.... 

LINK 

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The views expressed by myself and other Christians on this website and in our blog and / or forums (if we have them) may not necessarily reflect the official position of my / their respective denominations.  Additionally,  when I reference various web resources, it should not be assumed to be an endorsement of the entirety of that resource.
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