Posted on 02/17/2005 9:55:43 AM PST by 26lemoncharlie
TESTING THE FAITH Judge drops all charges against Philly Christians Adults who evangelized at homosexual event vindicated, teen girl likely off hook tomorrow
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: February 17, 2005 12:33 p.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
In what is being hailed as a victory for free speech, a judge in Philadelphia today dismissed all criminal charges against four Christians who were arrested for evangelizing at an outdoor homosexual event.
Judge Pamela Dembe of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas dismissed the charges, saying that she found no basis whatsoever for any of them.
"We are one of the very few countries that protects unpopular speech," Dembe said after viewing a videotape of the arrests. As WorldNetDaily reported, on Oct. 10, a group of 11 Christians was "preaching God's Word" to a crowd of people attending the Philadelphia "OutFest" event and displaying banners with biblical messages.
After a confrontation with a group called the Pink Angels, described by protesters as "a militant mob of homosexuals," the Christians were arrested and spent a night in jail.
Eight charges were filed: criminal conspiracy, possession of instruments of crime, reckless endangerment of another person, ethnic intimidation, riot, failure to disperse, disorderly conduct and obstructing highways.
None of the Pink Angels was cited or arrested.
After a preliminary hearing in December, Judge William Austin Meehan ordered four of the Christians to stand trial on three felony and five misdemeanor charges. If convicted, each could have received a maximum of 47 years in prison. One female teenage protester faces charges in the juvenile justice system, but those charges likely will be dropped tomorrow.
"The judge saw this case for what it is," Joe Infranco, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, said in a statement. "This was the right response to an outrageous abuse of power to silence speech that some people didn't like.
"What took place here was a government crackdown on disfavored speech. The OutFest participants staged a national coming-out day on a public street using public funds, and then they tried to say it's a private event. That didn't make any sense, and neither did the actions of the police. …"
Dembe is the judge who last month removed the bail requirement that the defendants stay at least 100 feet away from any homosexual gathering.
Agreed 100%.
AMEN!!!! God bless these brave souls and Judge Dembe for upholding her oath and the Constitution.
They also need to see about the judge who ordered them to stand trial. Maybe he needs to be investigated and removed from the bench.
"While the phrase seems odd, I believe it is entirely correct. Just my $.02;-)"
I kind of took it as a Freudian slip of how she viewed the case personally. At least it seemed that way to me.
More than a few members here insisted that these folks were not worth supporting. Nice to see them proved wrong.
Most welcome news.
Great news, thank you for the ping.
Thanks for posting this good news.
Thank you dear Lord!
I was afraid it was almost time to round up the posse, grab the pitchforks and the ropes, and light the torches.
Amen! The lefties haven't won yet!
burn her house and shoot her dawg!!!!!!!!!!!!
SHE HAS CATS!!!!!!!!!!!
They say Justice is (should be) blind. I suppose that makes you move slowly. A happy Amen.
What LYNNE ABRAHAM did to ANTI-CLINTON PROTESTOR DON ADAMS was FAR WORSE!!!!!!
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