No Free Speech at Liberty Bell
A well-known street preacher has been convicted of two federal crimes for preaching the gospel on the public sidewalk outside Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.
It was back on October 6 last year when Michael Marcavage, director of Repent America, was arrested by National Park rangers for refusing to leave the public sidewalk outside the Liberty Bell Center. He explains what happened:
“I was instructed that I needed to go to the ‘free-speech zone,’ which was on the other side of the Liberty Bell Center, away from the people that we were attempting to speak with and reach with our [gospel] tracts,” says Marcavage. “This was a main thoroughfare where there are, throughout the day, thousands of people that pass by. So this was a prime location for us to be able to witness to as many people as possible.”
On Friday, Marcavage was convicted of two federal offenses, fined $445, and ordered not to return to the National Independence Historic Park for a year without first notifying Park Service officials and obtaining a permit if he planned to engage in any evangelistic activities. Read the rest here at OneNewsNow!
Archived here:
In October 2002, Jim Gilles was witnessing on the campus of Miami University when he was approached by security officers, who told him that without a permit, free speech was not allowed throughout the entire university.
Sidewalk Witness Wins in Court
The police department in Hastings, Nebraska, has been forbidden by a federal court from interfering with Christians witnessing on public sidewalks. Kevin Pulver just wanted to stand on a public sidewalk adjacent to Hastings College and share his faith with anyone who was interested in listening. But according to Alliance Defense Fund senior counsel Nate Kellum, local
Read More