Judge dismisses case against anti-abortion activist (North Dakota)

bismarcktribune.com ^ | 2/3/2015 | Andrew Sheeler

[Morgana]

A Northwest District Court judge has dismissed a disorderly conduct case against a Williston man who, last fall, drove a truck displaying graphic photos of aborted fetuses.

Judge Paul Jacobson dismissed the case against Robert Arthur Rudnick on Monday.

While on patrol on July 31, a Williston police officer stopped a vehicle driven by Rudnick that was towing a trailer with graphic signs taped on both sides.

Rudnick was one of many people in North Dakota advocating on behalf of Measure 1, which would have added an "inalienable right to life of every human being at any stage of development" to the state constitution.

The measure was defeated nearly two to one by state voters.

An officer had previously stopped Rudnick and told him the sign was disturbing. Rudnick agreed to no longer display the sign in city limits, according to the complaint.

Rudnick was arrested and his truck was towed to a police impound lot.

Jocelyn Floyd, associate counsel for the Thomas More Society, said Rudnick reached out to her organization for representation after he was arrested.

The Thomas More Society is a Catholic nonprofit legal group that often represents clients in cases involving same-sex marriage, abortion or religious expression.

Floyd said Rudnick was one of several people across the country who drive around "truth trucks" that are aim "to expose (the public) to the reality and the horror of what happens in an abortion."

Occasionally, as happened to Rudnick, these drivers run afoul of local ordinances. Floyd said it was a common, and understandable, instinct of police to want to maintain order by removing the offending sign and its owner.

[basil]

We once lived in Williston and loved it. There were about 3,000 people living there at that time.

Oil was discovered in the area a few years ago. The population has, of course, boomed since then.

I loved living there-—but don’t think I would like it so much today. What I liked most about it were the people, and the fact that it was a small town.