Nearly a year after stating his opinions on the sidewalk, an Arkansas street preacher was apprehended. Concerning ramifications for the state’s people’ First Amendment rights could result from this.
On June 5 of last year, Jeremy Anders, a resident of Batesville, was required to give a testimony while passing through the city.
Anders, a former member of the LGBTQ+ community who has come to terms with his past and now speaks out against it, addressed the role that neighborhood businesses have in assisting the community on a downtown sidewalk. It was difficult to ignore his fervent speech.
Businesses in the city center were closed on a Sunday in 2022, including the renowned Stella’s Brick Oven restaurant where Anders was giving a sermon.
That evening, a police report detailing Stella’s owner’s complaints about Anders’ actions was made public. She asserted that Anders started uploading nasty films on the company’s Facebook page after placing a “safe place” label on the store’s window. Additionally, according to the complaint, Anders said, “People like you should burn in hell.”
Additionally, Batesville PRIDE, a pioneering group for LGBT community activism in the city, was founded by Shannon Hix, who serves as a significant testimonial.
Several days before to Hix’s group’s “PRIDEfest,” a police response was made in response to their sermons.
Anders was visited by the Batesville Police Department later that night as he was saying his prayers. They informed him of their choice and gave him the go-ahead to avoid the company.
Even though Anders insisted he had never returned to Stella’s, officials moved quickly and without his knowledge.
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After the police report was filed on June 7, an investigator from Batesville police signed a probable cause affidavit for Anders’ alleged actions outside Stella’s and his derogatory comments about the business on social media. Anders, a street preacher, referred to the establishment as “gay pride supporters” and “homosexual enablers.” The investigator believed there was sufficient cause to file an arrest warrant for Anders three days later, citing misdemeanor harassment.
Anders continued with his daily routine and purpose, not realizing that the police had been looking for him for almost a year.
Anders’ commute to work on the morning of April 20 took an unexpected turn. When a street preacher was arrested and put into custody due to an outstanding harassment warrant, it came as a surprise to him. The preacher spent more than 24 hours in custody and will show up in court on June 14.
Anders can now sigh with relief because a prominent Christian organization leader has intervened to support his cause.
According to Bob Ballinger, the National Association of Christian Lawmakers’ head of law and policy, “everything that they accused him of doing is protected speech and expression under the First Amendment.”
“There is nothing that he’s done that is not protected speech.”
Ballinger’s claims regarding the lawsuit against Anders appear to be supported by the facts.
Our Founding Fathers made a conscious choice to not include a criterion in the First Amendment for what speech and religion are deemed “allowed” by the government. Our founding fathers were fully aware of the difficulties that could arise if they gave the government the authority to determine whether speech is legitimate or not.
“I think the city feels like he’s small and that he’s insignificant and that he is a pest … and his life [doesn’t] matter that much,” Ballinger said. “They’re willing to crush his rights because he’s a nuisance to the wrong people.”
“It’s fundamentally immoral,” he continued, “not to mention unconstitutional.”
Ballinger and the NACL are lucky to be defending Anders’ rights. He won’t have to accept a public defender who might put a plea bargain before the truth. As it protects the fundamental right guaranteed to all Americans by the Constitution, the fight for the street preacher’s rights is essential.
“Right now he’s the least one, but it won’t be very long until we’re the least ones,” Ballinger warned. “It’s important that his rights are protected and that our rights are protected.”
A fundraiser securing donations for Anders’ legal defense can be found here.
