« Just Another Billion | Main | The Gianna Jessen Story »
Maryland troopers conduct mass arrest of peaceful pro-life protesters
By Theresa Moss | September 5, 2008
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and allied attorneys filed a lawsuit yesterday against Harford County, the town of Bel Air, and seven police officers on behalf of pro-life protesters’ Constitutional rights.
Last month, 18 pro-life advocates—8 adults and 10 teenagers—were arrested, jailed, shackled, and/or strip-searched for peacefully protesting abortion along a public street.
The 18 pro-life advocates
were participants in Defend Life’s “Face the Truth” Pro-life Tour on August 1. When a state trooper told them that they had to get off county property and put away their signs because they did not have a permit, the group complied—moving into the city limits of Bel Air, Maryland. They stood apart from each other on the city property and held their anti-abortion signs touching the ground so they would not obstruct any sight lines.
Then, without warning, seven patrol cars arrived on the scene and began arresting the pro-life participants without a word. The officers did not inform the people what they were being charged with, nor did they read them their rights. One of the women who was arrested overheard a police radio conversation where an unknown person told the state troopers to make the arrests and they would “figure out later” what charges would be filed.
The pro-life advocates were put in handcuffs and held alongside the heavily trafficked public road for over a half hour. Three young female participants were then subjected to sexually invasive searches—first in a public parking lot and then in a jail restroom with a door partly open. (The lawsuit filed by the ADF said that another inmate who was being held in a separate case had not been subjected to that type of search.)
“The truth of the matter is that our clients were heckled, arrested, imprisoned, shackled, and strip-searched twice for exercising their First Amendment rights,” said Daniel Cox, an attorney who is allied with the ADF. “No excuse exists for how our young clients were treated.”
Two minors in the group were soon released, but the adults were held in jail overnight. Officials put several of the participants in leg irons and denied them permission to call their families until after midnight. The men and women were held in two separate cells, but could hear each other. They spent their time singing Christian hymns together until they were released the next day.
“There were no traffic jams,” Ames said. “There were no people running in and out of traffic. There was no refusal to disperse. They plainly and simply violated our First Amendment rights.”
On August 12, the state decided not to pursue the charges against them, which included loitering, disorderly conduct, and failure to obey a lawful order. The pro-life advocates were never charged for a permit offense.
Defend Life Director Jack Ames said this decision by the State of Maryland to drop charges shows that “our side of the story was the true story.”
“This incident paints an ugly picture of the state of religious freedom and free speech in American today,” said Kevin Theriot, ADF senior counsel. “The state shouldn’t prosecute Christians for expressing their beliefs on important social issues, nor deny them their constitutional rights.”
Sources:
1. LifeSiteNews.com
2. WorldNetDaily.com
3. LifeNews.com
(Photos from LifeSiteNews.com)
Topics: Social & Religious Commentary |
September 6th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
What is the other side’s take on the matter?
September 6th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Theresa - I heard about this from Mrs. Johnson, who actually knows some of the people involved. What she told me sounded terrible, but I had no idea it was THAT bad. At least they were all released and the charges were dropped. The tour is coming to Morgantown in October, I think, and the demonstration has always been peaceful and well-received here. Hopefully nothing like this will happen, since I was thinking of participating!
September 7th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
The “other side” isn’t reporting the story.
September 7th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Er, by “the other side,” I meant the State. What’s the State say about what went down before/during the arrests?
September 8th, 2008 at 8:54 am
The Department of Maryland State Police reported the following information the day of the arrest–August 1:
The Maryland State Police arrested the anti-abortion protest group “…after they interfered with traffic and failed to disperse while walking alongside and through stopped vehicles at two intersections in Harford County… Two troopers responded to the location and advised the organizers that the group was creating a traffic hazard. Troopers also asked to see the permit required by Harford County to hold a demonstration event. The group had no required permit. Troopers told the group to disperse and leave the county… At about 5:30 p.m. today, the Bel Air Barracks again received numerous calls from motorists at the intersection of Rt. 24 and Marketplace. Callers described the same behavior as earlier reported. Seven troopers, including the commander of the Bel Air Barracks, responded to the location and found about 20 members of the same group. Traffic was congested and group members were seen standing along the roadway holding large signs and pictures…” (The entire report is here: http://www.mdsp.org/media/press_release_details.asp?identifier=669)
The Baltimore Sun later reports that: “The state dropped charges, which included loitering, disorderly conduct and failure to obey a lawful order, on Aug. 12. Town and county officials said yesterday that they had not seen the [Alliance Defense Fund] suit and would not comment on pending litigation. State police had no comment.”
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:12 am
This does not surprise me at all. Demonstrators and political groups demonstrate along those roads around Bel Air all the time. Unless they were in the road they were not obstructing traffic. I really wonder what the idea of the strip search was.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:49 am
Userper in cheif Obama has extended thestate of emergency for an additional year.In states of emergencies the constitution is suspended.So what happens when a state of emergency becomes the status quo? Prolonged detention, concentration camps ,gulags,due process becoming a priveledge no longer a right. Martial law, how about being disappeared and summary executions.We are no longer the land of the free,home of the brave.Welome to the United Socialist States of America.Stop hitting the snoose button and wake up and smell the tyranny!