Acquitted Christian missionaries Plan To Sue Dearborn Over Arrests At Arab Festival

From Michigan Live.com and Alliance Defense Fund:

Attorney: Acquitted Christian missionaries plan to sue Dearborn over arrests at Arab festival


Published: Monday, September 27, 2010, 11:47 AM Updated: Monday, September 27, 2010, 1:50 PM

Jonathan Oosting
MLive.com

A video of the arrests, which the Acts 17 Apologetics group posted to YouTube.

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Share 49 Comments A jury on Friday acquitted four Christian missionaries accused of breaching the peace at the Dearborn International Arab Festival in June, but their attorney says the legal battle is far from over.



Robert Muise of the Thomas More Law Center plans to file a civil lawsuit on their behalf against the City of Dearborn "in short order," he said this morning on WJR-AM 760.



"They spent a night in jail for doing nothing but attending an Arab festival and daring to discuss their faith," he told host Frank Beckmann. "That can't happen in the United States."



Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad previously explained the evangelists "caused a stir" at the festival, and a police report indicated one of the missionaries was "screaming into the crowd" leading officers to arrest the group "to gain control of the situation and avoid a possible riotous crowd."



But the missionaries -- members of the Act 17 Apologetics group, which openly claims Islam is a false religion -- video recorded their interactions at the festival, evidence Muise said convinced the jury they did nothing to provoke a confrontation.





Listen to Robert Muise:



Mayor Jack O'Reilly told the Detroit Free Press he respected the jury's decision but suggested the video cameras were proof the missionaries planned the confrontation as a stunt to drum up publicity and donations.



"It's really about a hatred of Muslims," he said. "That is what the whole heart of this is. ... Their idea is that there is no place for Muslims in America. They fail to understand the Constitution."



Muise called the accusation "utter nonsense" and pointed out that two of the missionaries -- adult converts -- remain close to Muslim family members.



"Their greatest decision they made in their life was to convert from Islam to Christianity and they want to share that story with as many people who are willing to listen to them," he said. "That is the essence of free exercise of religion. That is the essence of the First Amendment right to freedom speech."



Listen to the full WJR-AM 760 interview with Muise in the embedded player above.



Related topics: Dearborn Missionary Arrests