Update on Truth Tour Members Arrested

Defend Life
18 people participating in the Maryland Face the Truth Tour were arrested in Bel Air, MD, August 01, 2008 while peacefully holding pro-life signs on the side of the road. They were not told what they were being arrested for, nor were they read their rights during arrest.

Dear Editor,

Referencing the article below, there are at least three major errors. I was there for the entire time and captured much of the event on my digital camera.

1. The people who were arrested were not marching among cars stopped at red lights; they were standing in the grass on the side of the road, each holding a pro-life sign and quietly praying.

2. We did not refuse to disperse; we took the signs down at 5:00pm.

3. We did not return to the same intersection; we moved to another location and set the signs up again.

4. At that location, a state trooper arrived and began arresting people without telling them why.

My concern is that your newspaper should be gravely concerned with this deliberate attack by the State, the trampling of MD citizens' First Amendment rights. I would encourage you to dig deeper into this story and report it for what it really is.
Click Here For The Full Story......

Related:
18 Pro-Lifers Arrested in Maryland
By Josh Mitchell / Baltimore Sun
Eighteen anti-abortion protesters were arrested Friday after they marched among cars stopped at red lights in Harford County and refused to disperse, state police said. Motorists called police about 4:30 p.m. to report that 30 to 50 people holding large signs and pictures were walking in traffic at an intersection on Route 24 just north of Interstate 95. Two troopers responding to the calls asked the protesters to disperse after they could not produce a permit to demonstrate, state police spokesman Greg Shipley said. An hour later, 20 members of the same group marched again at the intersection, Shipley said. Sixteen adults and two juveniles were arrested. Shipley said they were charged with disorderly conduct, failure to obey a lawful order and willfully obstructing the flow of traffic.

Posted by Editor at August 6, 2008 10:59 AM