Posted on 12/19/2004 6:12:34 PM PST by Pyro7480
Michael Marcavage is the leader of Repent America, a Christian group based in the Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) area. Repent America is known for its activism on the behalf of traditional morality, especially with the pro-life and pro-traditional marriage causes.
Mr. Marcavage has been in the news recently, ever since he and 10 other Christian activists were arrested on October 10, 2004, after protesting at a homosexual street fest in Philadelphia. They were charged with three (3) felonies and five (5) misdemeanors. Among the felony charges were Criminal Conspiracy, Ethnic Intimidation and Riot. 7 of the protesters had the charges against them dropped in December, but the attorney representing all of those originally charged says the charges were dropped against the remaining seven because they were not seen quoting scripture on the videotape. An emergency appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals was rejected on December 13, 2004, leaving the 4 Christians who are still charged with only an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
(For those who want to read more about this case, please go to the following FR threads:
Christians Face 47 Years in Prison Because Philly Judge Calls Bible Verses
Christianity now "hate crime": the bible is "hate speech" subject to seizure
Christians Face long Jail Time In Philadelphia
Throwing Christians to the Philadelphians
Christian Protestors Face 47 Years in Jail for Encounter at 'Gay Pride' Event
‘The People vs. Michael M.’ [Christians jailed in Philadelphia])
What many who are familiar with the recent case do not know is that Mr. Marcavage has longed been involed in the fight for traditional morals, and has been in the middle of many incidents where "progressives" have been using tactics of questionable legality against those who would dare to stand against them.
The first documented incident was when Mr. Marcavage was a student at Temple University, which is also in Philadelphia. A more complete account of this incident is available in an article by Accuracy in Academia, but the key details are excerpted below.
Eighty years ago the Soviet Union developed a novel method of dealing with dissenters: it labeled them insane and committed them to mental institutions. A Temple University student contends that his school resorted to these very tactics in response to his objections to a school-sponsored performance of a play that depicts Jesus as a promiscuous homosexual.
Michael Marcavage filed suit against Temple University in December 2000 for a an incident in which he alleges that University officials censored an event he had organized, roughed him up, and involuntarily committed him to the psychiatric ward of the school's hospital. His only offense, he claims, was to organize an event to counter a play that mocks Christianity.
The civil rights suit was filed in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and contends that the plaintiff's First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated. The defendants in the suit are Temple University, its vice president for operations, William Bergman, and its managing director of campus safety services, Carl Bittenbender. Attorneys for the plaintiff include lawyers for the American Family Association's Center for Law and Policy....
During a contentious meeting on November 2, 1999-less than a week before the planned event was to take place-Temple vice president William Bergman called Marcavage into his office to inform him that the university was not permitting him to hold his program. Following a discussion, a disgusted Marcavage retreated to the restroom, threw water on his face, and asked God for direction about what to do next. God, however, had little to do with what then happened....
Marcavage's suit states that Temple Vice President "[William] Bergman pounded on the [bathroom] door and demanded that [Marcavage] come out." Marcavage then opened the door and was physically forced by Bergman to return to his office. "Once back in Bergman's office," the suit details, "Bergman, suddenly and without warning, pushed [Marcavage] down into a chair…. alarmed and afraid by Bergman's use of force, [Marcavage] told Bergman he wanted to leave. Bergman said no." Marcavage then asked to use the phone, a request that was also rebuffed. Realizing that these officials had no right to keep him against his will, Marcavage attempted to leave. The legal brief reports that the "Plaintiff then arose from the chair and was tripped to the floor by Bergman. As Plaintiff raised himself off the floor, he was forced onto a couch and held down by Bergman and Bittenbender. Plaintiff's repeated pleas to be released were refused."
Uniformed Temple Police then arrived and were ordered to handcuff Marcavage, who "was then carried out of the building and placed into a police car." The police refused to divulge to the student why he was being arrested or where he was going. "Shortly thereafter, Plaintiff was taken to the Emergency Crisis Center at Temple University Hospital against his will." The Christian student was then held in the psychiatric ward for more than three hours. Doctors examining him concluded that nothing was wrong with him and finally released him at 3:15 p.m....
Though the civil suit was filed at the end of the year 2000, the case has been slowly progressing, and in May 2004 a federal judge ruled that the suit can proceed to trial.
More recently, Mr. Marcavage and another pro-lifer, who were on their way back from the Democratic National Convention, were pulled-over in Connectict on July 29, 2004, for carrying pro-life signs on the side of their truck (a federal lawsuit was filed after this incident). On August 9, 2004, Marcavage and 4 other Christian activists were ejected from the 2nd annual Philadelphia Philles' Gay Day after unfurling a banner that said "Homosexuality is a Sin, Christ Can Set You Free." Less than a month later, at the Republican National Convention, Marcavage and Steve Lefemine, director of Columbia Christians for Life, spent over 30 hours in jail after being arrested across the street from Madison Square Garden on a public sidewalk for bringing a pro-life message to the convention. The charges against the two in connection with this arrest were later dropped by a New York City Municipal Court judge.
I'm only aware of the incident that happened this past October. And that via a thread here. I will have to read the other threads and info.
Another spike into the heart of liberty and the First Amendment.
True but from what I can tell so far, he's not breaking any major laws .. except maybe a noise disturbance law
It is shocking to me that Christians are now being arrrested in Philadelphia, much as they've been arreest in China and elsewhere. Freedom of religion is under attack in America. Who will stand up to these thugs?
Bump (feel free to add me to the ping list)
Funny, his support by Wildmon caused a red flag to appear in my head when I read it.
bttt
Thank You for the Ping!
bttt
Thanks for the links. Please, keep me posted.
Bump for reference
Homosexual Agenda + Moral Absolutes, with a good serving of Free Speech Rights going down the drain, with Religious Expression Verboten as well.
More of less of a summary with links to the story as far as it's gone.
Whether a person likes Mr. Marcavage's methods or not, the travesty of justice, the shameless silencing of a message the lefttists hate, and violence and hatred out in the open should give everyone the willies.
Let me know if anyone wants: On, Off, Or Back On* either pinglist, let me know.
*(I lost most of the names on the Moral Absolutes ping list...)
Thanks for the ping,Pyro and Merry CHRISTmas!
Who will stand up to these thugs?
CHRISTIANS!!!
Uh, somehow I doubt that. This guy sponsors the Bush Revealed website. Unlike W, he's a conservative Christian. :-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.