Sunday, October 30, 2011
School's Mascot Unholy?
A Georgia Pastor is crying foul after he was repeatedly arrested while protesting outside Warner Robins High School (located in Warner Robins, Ga.). The Pastor, who was protesting the school’s mascot, a Demon, claims his first amendment rights pertaining to free speech and freedom of assembly were violated by his repeated arrest and that he was being singled-out due to the religious tone of his protest.
The issue began in August 2010 when Pastor Donald Crosby, leader of God’s Kingdom Builders Church of Jesus Christ, learned that his son would be attending Warner Robins High School. Pastor Crosby took issue with the school being “Home of the Demons” and felt that the demonic mascot did not send the right message to impressionable adolescents. He and 20+ of his congregation decided to picket outside Warner Robins on the first day of school and voice their displeasure.
Shortly into the protest, however, local police dissolved the crowd and arrested Crosby for picketing without a permit (he was quickly released on bond). Several days later, Crosby obtained a permit from the city and held another protest outside the school. Again, police arrived and arrested Crosby, even though he and his congregation had all of the necessary paperwork this time.
Now, more than a year later, Crosby has decided to take legal action against the city of Warner Robins for his repeated arrest. On Monday, October 24, 2011, Crosby filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court, “claiming false imprisonment, false arrest, malicious prosecution, battery and harassment.” The city, along with the two arresting officers, were named as defendants in the case.
The city, on the other hand, maintains its innocence in any wrongdoing and claims the arresting officers followed all of the proper procedures. James Elliot, the attorney representing the city of Warner Robins, argues the city “had the right to regulate protests in order to maintain the public order.”
Up until the point when Crosby was arrested for the second time, everything was running relatively smoothly; Crosby tried to stage a protest but was arrested for not having a permit. He then received said permit from the city government in compliance with local ordinances in order to stage a second, lawful protest. The question at hand here is “did Pastor Crosby’s second protest constitute a great enough threat to public order to warrant police action?” There is little evidence to support that idea.
Looking at the evidence in this case, it is apparent that Crosby was rearrested not because his protest was threatening law and order, but because it’s religious argument was unpopular. The school adopted the mascot during WWII to honor the 7th Fighter Squadron, better known as the “Screamin’ Demons,” which at the time was based at nearby Robins Air Force Base. Many townspeople were unhappy with Crosby’s protest, seeing it as unpatriotic and trying to undo close to 70 years of tradition. Because the mascot came from the Screamin’ Demons, many townspeople also maintained that Crosby’s religious argument that the school was promoting something akin to devil worship did not make any sense, as the mascot was not religious in nature.
Regardless of the feasibility of the Pastor’s argument, he should have been allowed to voice it without harassment by local police. Just because an argument is unpopular does not give the government the right to silence it. That’s the whole reason the first amendment exists in the first place; to protect all speech, not just popular speech. Pastor Crosby is unequivocally within reason to file a lawsuit against the city and the arresting officers. His most basic constitutional rights were violated, and he deserves justice.
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