I won't put up with it, Jerry! It's not a crime!
Posted on 08/14/2006 9:03:38 AM PDT by Colofornian
SALT LAKE CITY - An evangelical Christian minister claims he was unlawfully arrested while trying to tape a performance of a Mormon-themed pageant in the Clarkston Cemetery near Logan Friday night.
Joel Kramer, 39, was arrested and booked for disorderly conduct after he told a Cache County sheriff's deputy he was not violating any laws by videotaping the pageant. The pageant depicts the life of Martin Harris, an early disciple of Joseph Smith, founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"These are free pageants, so there's no copyright violation and I'm within my rights to be on public land," Kramer said. "I feel like it was the LDS church influence. That's the reason I was arrested."
Kramer, who claims the entire incident was recorded on video and audio tape, said he was told by a sheriff's deputy the Mormon church had requested Kramer turn off his cameras.
Jail records and an online incident report for the Cache County sheriff's office confirm Kramer's arrest and booking. He posted $280 bail and was released.
No one from the sheriff's office was available to discuss the incident, a deputy said Saturday.
Mormon church spokesman Mike Otterson said he was unaware of what happened. A message left for Donald Jeppesen, who is listed as the information contact for the Clarkston pageant on a church Web site, was not immediately returned. Clarkston is about 160 miles north of Salt Lake City, the home base of the Mormon church.
Kramer is the director of Living Hope Ministries, a non-denominational ministry based in Brigham City, that says its mission is to bring Bible truths specifically to members of the Mormon church.
Kramer has produced several videos, including "The Bible vs. The Book of Mormon" and "DNA vs. The Book of Mormon," which can be watched over the Internet for free or purchased.
He said he tapes the Mormon pageants - he's recorded those in Palmyra, New York and Manti, Utah - and uses sections of the tapes in his evangelizing videos.
At other pageants, Kramer said he's talked with police but has never been arrested.
At the beginning of each pageant, an announcer asks the audience to refrain from taking photographs or video, Kramer said.
"It sounds like law, but it's a request," Kramer said. "It would be like me announcing over a loudspeaker that I would like them not to show the pageant."
Friday night, Kramer said he and three other men from Living Hope Ministries turned off their cameras and tried to reason with the sheriff's deputy, especially when told the cemetery amphitheater had been leased by the city to the Mormon church. They also changed locations in the cemetery, moving farther away from the amphitheater, but Kramer was still arrested.
"I told (the officer) you just arrested me for breaking the LDS rules," Kramer said, who added that none in his group went to the pageant to proselytize.
It's unclear if prosecutors will formally charge Kramer with a crime.
"Thou shalt not criticize Mormons for _______."
I think this is the 11th commandment.
These are free pageants, so there's no copyright violation
A free presentation of a performance does not invalidate any copyright claims.
As to the rest, sounds like a turf war.
Old Revelation:
LDS rules Salt Lake City.
Seriously, though, most Mormons I've run into seem pretty cool.
Had to be a lot of ankles in THAT pageant
Sounds like a possible copyright violation (or privacy-rights violation) to me.
Scientologists are nuts but like Mormons, they don't blow themselves up in crowded resturaunts and that's good enough for me.
I won't put up with it, Jerry! It's not a crime!
Is this still public land while it is being leased?
Gays have been wearing rainbows to catholic masses recently, whiuch the church finds disrupting and insulting.
Mormons should be allowed their privacy, including the courtesy of not being filmed when you are trying to pray.
If true, (1) would have already been sued by now; (2) this would be a matter for courts to sort out post public distribution of tapes; not a matter for sherriff's department to pre-emptively arrest.
These kind of public event pageants are briefly videotaped all the time by the MSM, and no arrests are made there. So the difference between being subject to arrest or not subject to arrest is whether you have MAINSTREAM written on the cap of your hat?
One wonders what makes them so afraid or ashamed of what they put forth in the pageants that they don't want any probing of it. Perhaps unlike Biblical truth, it won't stand up to challenges.
So this guy thinks that if he goes to a free screening of the Passion of the Christ it is OK to videotape it and use it in his own products. Genius! Just because an event is held in a public venue or on public property does not make the performance public domain. Half the concerts in America are held in publicly owned stadiums or theaters but he should try taping the Rolling Stones for his own use.
?
(That's a rhetorical question mark. You are plain nuts.)
Shooting from the hip here, but:
1) I don't think there are any privacy issues with recording something in a public place.
2) I don't think there are any copyright issues with recording a public display of anything(otherwise we could all be in jail). Copyright issues arise with rebroadcast or sale.
Someone will certainly correct me.
Okay, was Heston--when he's playing the role of Moses in the 10 Commandments--actually praying at that time? Doubtful. It was a public performance. (I can just imagine Heston saying..."Hey, the script calls for me to pray at this juncture...turn off the cameras.")
They darned well better! AND they'd better be able to build a pretty strong case, one that will withstand non-Mormon scrutiny during the appeal. Otherwise, methinks the Mormon Brownshirts are in for a drubbing.
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.