Covenant News Wire Service

Christians Arrested Update

Hearings Scheduled For Next Week

Motion filed for Philadelphia protesters
Christians evangelizing at homosexual event seek federal relief

WorldNetDaily.com

One of the attorneys for the Christian protesters who are criminally charged for evangelizing at an outdoor homosexual event in Philadelphia has renewed an appeal in federal court, citing the Supreme Court statement "Speech cannot be ... punished or banned simply because it might offend a hostile mob."

The filing by the American Family Association Center for Law and Policy seeks emergency relief in federal district court based on evidence from a December preliminary hearing.

Though an arraignment of the four adult defendants was scheduled for yesterday, prosecutors again postponed the proceeding. The same thing happened last week when an arraignment was scheduled.

"Just as they did last week, they're not prepared," Michael Marcavage, the head of Repent America, the group that sponsored the October protest, told WND. "Last week they weren't ready, this week they're not ready, and now they're saying we have to come back again."

The government also postponed a bail hearing at which Marcavage and the other defendants had hoped to have a condition of their bail removed. That condition requires them to stay at least 100 feet away from any homosexual gathering.

Marcavage says both hearings are now scheduled for next week.


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Posted by Editor at January 14, 2005 07:25 AM