Attorney: Ruling by Michigan judge lets Muslims silence Christians with violence
Despite the video evidence, Judge Duggan, sitting in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, granted Wayne County’s motion for summary judgment, dismissing the lawsuit, AFLC said. The judge also denied a motion requesting the court issue an order preventing the Wayne County Sheriff and his deputies from restricting the Christian evangelists from displaying their banners and signs on the public sidewalks outside this year’s Arab Festival, set to be held in June.
“The court finds that the actual demonstration of violence here provided the requisite justification for [the Wayne County sheriffs'] intervention, even if the officials acted as they did because of the effect the speech had on the crowd,” the judge said in his ruling.
“The First Amendment was dealt a severe blow today as a result of this ruling. Indeed, this ruling effectively empowers Muslims to silence Christian speech that they deem offensive by engaging in violence. And pursuant to this ruling, the Christian speakers are now subject to arrest for engaging in disorderly conduct on account of the Muslim hecklers’ violent response to their speech," said Robert Muise, AFLC co-founder and senior counsel.
"In short," he added, "this ruling turns the First Amendment on its head.”
David Yerushalmi, AFLC co-founder and senior counsel, said the fight is not over.
"We have filed an immediate appeal of this ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, he said.
"While Judge Duggan may have been the first judge to rule on this issue, he won’t be the last. Indeed, we are prepared to take this case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary because it is imperative that our free speech rights not be subject to mob rule. This is the United States, not Benghazi,” he added.
I would not bother, but you are not supposed to hide your light under a basket .....