Tag: arrest

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Police Threaten to Arrest Street Preachers Over ‘Hate Crime’ of Preaching Gospel

The UK continues to blossom into a hunting ground for tyrants, with law enforcement enforcing draconian laws designed to curtail free speech and, in some cases, freedom of thought.

UK Street Preacher Convicted of “Misgendering” Man Under Counter-Terrorism “Extreme Views” Law
Thought Crimes! Woman Fined For Silently Praying Outside Abortion Clinic +Video
72 y/o Pastor Found ‘Guilty’ of Breaking Law by Holding Sign that ‘Disapproves’ of Abortion
Priest Charged in Britain For Having THIS Bumper Sticker Near An Abortion Clinic

Last week, two street preachers were confronted by several Metropolitan Police officers after a member of the public called in and accused them of hate crimes in the form of racism and homophobia, which caused them alarm and distress. A 10 minute encounter was uploaded by Contagious Christian, but clipped by us below. According to PCN:

One of the Met officers can be heard telling the preacher: “Currently there’s allegations of a hate crime, a public order offence, Section 4a [and] allegations of homophobia….I’ve not heard anything, I’m not saying I’ve heard anything. Someone’s called us. It might be completely untrue or true.

The street preacher insisted he wasn’t saying anything hateful, and recounted what he’d been speaking about:

So we’ve been preaching about the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Bible says in the book of John, chapter three, verse 16, that For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only begotten son, that whosoever, that is any person, doesn’t matter if they’re black, homosexual, drunken, liar, thief, prostitute, whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

“For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but he sent his son into the world that all can be saved. And that is the message of the gospel. That’s what I’ve been preaching”.

Officers informed the preacher that he needed his name for their report because otherwise, if they didn’t get it, they would have “failed a potential victim” in the event they wanted to press charges.

After being threatened with arrest if they didn’t identify themselves, they complied.


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News

Christian Evangelist Passing Out ‘Anti-Abortion’ Literature Arrested At Arts Festival

A Christian evangelist who was handing out anti-abortion literature at an arts festival was arrested this weekend for ‘criminal trespassing,’ despite the event being open to the public and held in a public park. 

Mike Gulley, an abortion abolitionist, held anti-abortion signs, distributed literature, and engaged passersby in conversation about the gospel and the scourge of abortion for over an hour at the Rebel Arts Festival in Potawatomi Park, South Bend, Indiana, before organizers confronted him and asked him to leave. 

Gulley and fellow proselytizers remained unmoved until multiple law enforcement officers approached him and issued a stern warning – relocate to the other side of the road or risk being arrested for trespassing. Sensing the seriousness of the officers’ tone and seeming eagerness to carry out their threats, Gulley complied under duress and the threat of arrest, migrating to the park’s perimeter while continuing his advocacy efforts. 

The situation escalated when Gulley asked the officer to specify the ordinance number he was supposedly violating, given the nature of the event and his right to free speech. Rather than providing an answer or attempting to de-escalate the situation, the officer handcuffed him and arrested, citing ‘resistance to a lawful order’ as the cause for his detainment. 

Upon being transported to the police station where he was booked, Gulley was not charged with ‘resisting arrest’ as initially stated but rather with ‘criminal trespass.’ 

To aid in his legal defense, Gulley has started a GiveSendGo campaign to raise funds to hire a lawyer.

Further demonstrating one of the police officers has a tenuous grasp of the law, after an onlooker called him a ‘tyrant,’ the officer shouted back, “I believe you’re provoking a public official, and you can’t do that.” Calling a law enforcement officer mean names or even cussing them out is protected speech, however, and anyone most definitely can do it, despite his insistence to the contrary.

For a longer cuts of the video, visit Brent Buckley Operation Save Indiana‘s channel.

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News

Breaking: CHARGES DROPPED Against Street Preacher After Pride Encounter Goes Viral + City Open to Lawsuit

All charges against the Pennsylvania preacher who was arrested after speaking up at a homosexual Pride rally have been dropped, according to the Berks County District Attorney. In a message posted on Facebook, they share that their office has withdrawn charges of disorderly conduct filed against Damon Atkins after reviewing the video and the applicable case law.

According to reports from the Lancaster Patriot, Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach said the arrest could lead to potential legal action against the city and police department.

“From what I have seen thus far I believe this was an unlawful arrest and could open the City of Reading and their police department to legal action.”

We hope it does, given how full of innacuracies and lies the affidavit of probable cause is (see below). In the video, Police Sergeant Bradley T. McClure arrests Atkins for offering a principled protest of the event, where he was only able to get out ‘God is not-‘ before being handcuffed and led away.

Atkins told The Lancaster Patriot He was going to quote a portion of 1 Corinthians 14:33 – “God is not the author of confusion” – but did not finish the quote because he stopped when he was handcuffed by McClure.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, McClure claims that “[Atkins] was carrying a sign with a slogan written on it that showed his opposition to the event.”

The video footage shows Atkins holding a sign that read “JESUS SAID GO AND SIN NO MORE.”

In the affidavit, McClure also claims that Atkins “began to yell to the people” attending the pride event.

“I immediately approached him and told him that, while he was free to stand on that side of the street and hold his sign,” McClure wrote in the affidavit, “he could not cross the street nor yell comments intended to disrupt the event.”

McClure added that Atkins “said he understood.” But the video does not show Atkins agreeing to remain silent and Atkins told The Lancaster Patriot that he never agreed to McClure’s instructions.

The affidavit continues with McClure claiming that in less than a minute Atkins “resumed yelling derogatory comments to the people at the event.”

The video records the only words from Atkins as “God is not the” immediately prior to McClure arresting him.


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News

Police Corruption! Christian Arrested in PA for Preaching Three Words at Pride Event: ‘God is Not-‘

A Christian man was arrested for protesting and open-air preaching at a Pride event in Reading, Pennsylvania, yesterday, with law enforcement seizing him, handcuffing, and marching him off within seconds of opening his mouth. According to testimony from Matthew Wear, who recorded the videos:

Today, as our family was driving out of Reading for a family adventure, we saw that there was a Pride rally at the City Hall building in Reading City. I saw two Christian protesters out there, and so I pulled us over and I came out to support and encourage them. I preached for 10 minutes or so until a tyrant cop laid hands on me and threatened to arrest me if I continued.

10 minutes later, another Christian protester came out. He stood his ground against the cop, and got arrested as shown in the clip. Most of the attendants, drag queens and children had come from out of town, either Lancaster, or as far away as New York. The locals in Reading were not “out in droves.” The Gospel went out, but it got pretty rough pretty quickly.

In an interaction prior to the arrest, Damon Atkins was confronted by Police Sergeant Bradley T. McClure for holding a sign that said “Jesus said go and sin no more.” The officer acknowledged that the preachers were on public property, but repeatedly told him to “Let them have their day.”

T/t to BarelyPreacherMan on YouTube. To see the full video of the interaction, click here.

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News

Disgraced Pastor James MacDonald Charged With Felony Assault After Allegedly Attacking Woman In Road Rage Incident

Disgraced former Harvest Church pastor James MacDonald was arrested and charged with felony battery and assault after allegedly attacking a woman in a road rage incident, beating her up so badly she had to be hospitalized. According to reports:

James MacDonald, who was fired from Harvest Bible Chapel in 2019, was arrested March 22 in Coronado, California, after he allegedly attacked a 59-year-old woman.

He was trying to parallel park his truck about 10:15 a.m. in the 900 block of Orange Avenue when he struck the woman’s car. The two exited their cars, and he “attacked” her, according to Coronado police.

The woman was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was treated for serious injuries, police said.

Macdonald, 62, is charged in San Diego County with one felony count each of battery causing serious bodily injury and assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury.

Michael Pancer, an attorney representing Macdonald, said in a statement to the Sun-Times that, “James MacDonald would never intentionally harm another human being.

“The charges as written are not accurate as to what took place. We believe the evidence will show Dr. MacDonald’s intent and conduct was neither malicious nor correctly assigned in the charges filed. We look to the legal process to establish what did happen and remedy the situation lawfully.”

Details of the incident originally appeared on the city of Coronado’s Police Facebook page, though the details about the stolen gun were later corrected to note the gun was NOT stolen.

MacDonald pled not guity and is scheduled to appear in court in June. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 7 years in prison.

Macdonald’s was officially terminated by the elder board of Harvest Bible Church in November of 2019 following a messy, public separation filled with lawsuits and name-calling. The elder board previously declared the money-grubbing guzzler to be so not above reproach, that they raked him over the coals sixty ways to Sunday and called him out for the abusive, greedy, two-fold son of hell that he is: explaining in an open letter all the ways MacDonald failed to be qualified for the pastorate.

  1. Above Reproach (Titus 1:6)–“To be above reproach is to have a reputation for being blameless and honorable.” The accusations against James are of great quantity and continue to be brought forward. His character should have been such that this magnitude of accusations would not have been believable. But sadly, James’ reputation does not defend his character. Instead, his reputation affirms many of the accusations against him as plausible.
  2. Respectable (1 Timothy 3:2)–The antithesis of being respectable is to be disruptive. We found that James had a pattern of being disruptive in public and private settings at the expense of other people’s well-being.
  3. Upright (Titus 1:8)–We found that James failed to meet the standard of dealing with others fairly and honorably. At times, he misrepresented gifts paid for by the church as gifts from him personally.
  4. Not Arrogant or Violent (Titus 1:7)–James’ behavior and language indicated that he thought of himself more highly than he should as evidenced by his pattern of insulting, belittling and verbally bullying others.
  5. Not Quick-Tempered or Quarrelsome (Titus 1:7; 1 Timothy 3:3)–We found James had a pattern of quickly becoming angry, manifesting itself in unmerited force and frequency. James’ behavior was of that of a combative person who insisted on his own ways and failed to cultivate peace.
  6. Not Domineering (1 Peter 5:3)–We found that James had a pattern of improperly exercising his positional and spiritual authority over others to his own advantage.
  7. Not Greedy for Gain or A Lover of Money (Titus 1:7; 1 Timothy 3:3)–We found that James made repeated efforts to profit himself beyond what was honorable. There was a pattern of extravagant spending utilizing church resources resulting in personal benefit.
  8. Disciplined (Titus 1:8)–James failed to keep his emotions under control. The failure is not in the dynamic range of his personality, but in the lack of self-discipline, which an Elder should display in a bridled tongue and sound speech.
  9. Self-Controlled and Sober-Minded (Titus 1:8; 1 Timothy 3:2)–We found that James had a pattern of acting on sudden impulses with insufficient deference to wise but differing views. In some of the most crucial moments where James needed to be calm and cautiously wise, he was hasty and reckless.

    MacDonald was living the high life prior to being ousted, giving Brian and Bobbie Houston of Hillsong a run for their money. MacDonald was likely rolling around naked each night in his Scrooge McDuckian Money Bin, reveling in the filthy lucre he was amassing and spending as if it were candy.
    Since leaving Harvest, MacDonald has been keeping busy as an itinerant preacher, running his Home Church Network, and appearing on TBN with Kirk Cameron.

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News

Pastor Arrested After Preaching with an AK-47 for a ‘Sermon Illustration’

In a sermon illustration that would make Michael Todd proud, a pastor in Nigeria was arrested by police last week after he preached a sermon with an AK-47 strapped to his back.

According to FCT Police Public Relations Officer Josephine Adeh, police also arrested the church’s Chief Security Officer, Inspector Musa Audu, who loaned out the gun, saying that no one is above the law.

In a statement posted to their social media, House on The Rock Church in Abuja, Nigera, explains that
“Pastor Uche Aigbe in a message about fighting the good fight with spiritual weapons, carried an unloaded gun to illustrate his message on ‘Guarding your Faith.’ “which he regrets doing.

“Pastor Uche has been a leader in House on the Rock, Abuja since 1999 and has always shown exemplary leadership. However, he realises that even with the best of intentions, carrying a gun to illustrate his message was ill-advised and regrettable.”

Without hesitation pastor, Uche has acknowledged the gravity of his actions and apologizes unreservedly for them.’ As a church house on the rock rejects all forms of violence, we stand on the good news gospel of Jesus Christ, which embraces peace and goodwill for all mankind.’

”We are cooperating fully with the authorities as they carry out their investigations into this incident and will continue to engage internally to ensure this break in protocol does not happen again.”

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News

BREAKING! Montana Missionaries Assaulted, Arrested, Thrown in Jail, and Taken by CPS


What you are about to read is a harrowing account.

(Montana 1st News) An account (full testimony) containing intricate details concerning five missionaries who were walking across America whose walking route then brought them to Montana (after 5500 miles) to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ peacefully, gently, and with respect as they walked many miles. On November 12, 2022, these same missionaries Jesse Boyd, his 18-year-old daughter Bethany Boyd, 12-year-old son Josiah Boyd, and mission partners Eric Trent and Carter Phillips were assaulted, arrested, thrown in jail, and taken by CPS.

“We have been privileged to serve Christ in more than 40 countries and in some of the most remote and farthest corners of the earth. We aren’t novices. We aren’t naive little missionaries. We aren’t inexperienced and without discernment. And we certainly aren’t homeless vagabonds like the prosecutor suggested to the judge in the zoom court.”-Jesse Boyd

In true ‘Apostle Paul’ and ‘John Bunyan’ (Author of “Pilgrims Progress”) type fashion Jesse Boyd penned his testimony as truthfully and accurately as possible and to the best of his ability while he sat in solitary confinement.

As a prelude to “The Assault” and “The Attack” you can read excerpts (below) from Boyd’s testimony which are eye opening and astounding.

EXCERPTS FROM THE “ASSAULT PART” 1 AND “THE ARREST” PART 2

“He then put his vehicle into park and said, “I’ll show you.” He seemed to be reaching for something and then got out of the driver’s side and very aggressively came toward me from around the front of his vehicle, a distance of about 20 feet. In that moment, I took his threat seriously and concluded that he was an imminent danger to me and my son standing nearby. I didn’t know or see what he reached for in his vehicle but feared in that instant that it could be a gun or some sort of weapon.”-Jesse Boyd, “The Assault”, Part 1

“The assailant got out his phone and dialed 911, openly bragging that he knew the sheriff and that we were in trouble. I heard him tell the dispatcher that he had been assaulted by a group of people. At this point, I feared leaving the scene with law enforcement now involved. The 911 dispatcher asked him if the “attackers” were still there. He said, “Yes.” I replied loudly, “Yes, I am here Ma’am, but I am the victim, and we will wait for law enforcement to arrive.”-Jesse Boyd, “The Assault”, Part 1

“None of his claimed “injuries” came from any use of the Cross or the flag. The flagpole could be broken over someone’s knee, and we have to be careful about letting the Cross fall to the ground because we have chipped and cracked it several times. We have had to repair it on many occasions.”-Jesse Boyd “The Arrest” Part 2

“The assailant made very clear threats of bodily harm that I was forced to take seriously on the side of a highway in the middle of nowhere. He showed aggression in his car. He got out of his car after I told him we were leaving. He aggressively ran toward me after I told him we were leaving. He made physical contact after we told him we wanted to leave. He threw the first punch after the firearm had been put away and after we again told him we desired to leave. He threw the first punch. He tackled me to the ground. He later tried to attack Eric. And, he continued to threaten us with bodily harm and even death after we had dealt with him and up to the point he called 911.”-Jesse Boyd “The Arrest” Part 2

To read Boyd’s full testimony see HERE

This article was written by Brenda Roskos and published at Montana 1st News

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Coronavirus Evangelical Stuff Featured In-person Church

As Province Announces New COVID Restrictions and Mandatory Masks, what Will Happen to Pastors James Coates and Tim Stephens?

With the news that the province of Alberta has reverted back to the COVID restrictions that had previously been done away with on July 1, deeming that masks are mandatory for all indoor public spaces and workplaces until further notice, many have wondered how that would affect men like Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church, or Pastor Tim Stephens of Fairview Baptist Church, given that ostensibly these masks would have to be worn during singing and worship.

Both have shown a steadfast refusal to bend or budge to the demands of the government to dictate how their worship services must be run, even going to prison for their convictions, and at first glance, it appeared the new edict would put them back again in the sights of Alberta Health Services.

Canada is in the ‘4th wave’ and Alberta has a population of 4.4 million people. There have been a total of 2390 deaths in the last 18 months, 515 people are currently hospitalized and 118 in the ICU. The average age at death is 80 years old, 78.3% of the population has received one dose, and 70.2% has received both. There are currently 1400 new cases a day and 1-3 people pass away from it every day. As a result of the rise in COVID cases, Premier Jason Kenney was pointed in what must be done.

“I wish we didn’t have to do this, but this is not a time for moral judgments — this is a time to get people vaccinated. We have done everything we can…If you just haven’t gotten around to it, for the love of God please get vaccinated now — and if you do, we will pay you $100″ (The province is giving any unvaccinated folks a $100 gift card as an incentive to get the shot)

If cases climb, it is likely that the government may return to lockdowns and institute vaccine passports, as other provinces have done. With Canada in the middle of an election and voting in a few weeks, and every political party now in support of a federal vaccine passport, the latter seems an inevitability no matter what outcome. So far all the provinces that have instituted these passports have granted exemptions for churches, meaning that people won’t have to show proof of vaccinations in order to gather for worship.

As for the churches, and their ability to gather and then gather unmasked if they so choose, they are fine for now. Tim Stephens shared the following graphic on social media.

He’s referring to this document, the RECORD OF DECISION – CMOH Order 40-2021 signed by Deena Hinshaw, the Chief Medical Officer of Health, which reintroduced the mask mandates.

For the time being, given that the Premier was publicly excoriated for the optics of imprisoned pastors in his province, churches are exempt from the mask mandates. Furthermore, there are no hard caps on gathering sizes, with Alberta Health Services only offering ‘strong recommendations’ that unvaccinated folk limit their gatherings to 10 people.

The way things are going, however, churches that refuse to abide may yet find themselves in the crosshairs of a government willing to do anything to stem the tide of coronavirus cases.

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In-person Church Righteous Defiance

GraceLife Church to Get Building Back Next Week, Says Authorities

The underground church of GraceLife in Parkland County, Alberta, whose building was tyrannically and grotesquely shut down and fenced in by law enforcement and government agents on April 7th, 2021, whose pastor James Coates spent 35 days in jail, and who has been meeting in secret at undisclosed locations since the closure, will be allowed to re-enter their building by July 1st, according to authorities.

With the news that 70 percent of Albertans aged 12 and over have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, Premier Kenny made the announcement last week that the province would be reopening and more or less going back to normal, with a few restrictions still in place for wearing face masks, but no more capacity limits on churches.

No more bans on indoor social gatherings. No more limits for gyms, sports and fitness activities. No more capacity limits at restaurants, in retail, or for places of worship. No more advisories against non-essential travel.

At the time of the fencing in, Alberta Health Services said it would only take the fence down if the church would comply with the lockdown orders. The Church never did, and the fence will come down anyway.

With it no longer being illegal to gather at more than 15 percent capacity as of July 1, 2021, by all indications this coming week will be the last that the GraceLife congregation will meet in secret, and then be back in their own building the week after.

[Editor’s note: This is still not over. There is a rumour (from Pastor Coates himself) that authorities will likely bill the cost of erecting, maintaining, and dismantling the fencing to GraceLife Church. Pray for these faithful brethren.]

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News

Pastor Tim Stephens to Spend at Least Two Weeks in Jail After Underground Church Discovered

courtesy of rebelnews.com

Pastor Tim Stephens, who was arrested by police on Monday in front of his weeping wife and children a day after his underground church service was discovered by police helicopters, will have to spend at least 2 weeks in prison on account of violating Alberta lockdown orders, incarcerated until he can attend a June 24 court date.

This is the second arrest for Stephens, who was taken into custody last month and spent three days in jail, and was subsequently released after his arrest was found to be based on illegal and spurious merits.

In a letter posted on social media by his wife Raquel, she explains that the government has now seized Fairview Baptist Church’s building and pastor and that Alberta Health services “still want Tim to tell people what to wear, where to stand, and to forbid some people from being the church,”

Following his arrest, Pastor Stephens went before a Justice of the Peace and like Pastor James Coates, who was jailed on the same grounds and whose location has yet to be discovered, was offered bail conditions “upon his agreement to abide by all public health orders.” She explains that he could not agree to those terms, as that would “prevent him from faithfully shepherding the flock to his care” and consequently will remain in custody until at least June 28.

According to Calgary Police, though Stephens was served with an injunction to cease gathering, he chose to “move forward with an illegal outdoor service, ignoring requirements for social distancing and reduced capacity limits for attendees.”

In a statement by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, the firm who is representing pastor Stephens, Jay Cameron, Justice Centre Litigation Director explains that the arrest is completely outrageous:

It is our position that AHS is engaged in an intentional act of public deception and abuse of authority in arresting Pastor Stephens and others.  Further, it appears that Premier Kenney’s Government is targeting its enemies, those who are speaking out against lockdown restrictions and for Charter freedoms.