Philadelphia police sued for badgering preacher

Michael Marcavage

A Christian evangelist who has taken the word of God's salvation offer to celebrations of homosexuality and witchcraft while calling the nation of the United States to repentance has filed a lawsuit against the city of Philadelphia and several police officials for their alleged concerted campaign to halt his speech and restrict his movements.

The lawsuit was filed by attorneys representing Michael Marcavage, who works through his Repent America ministry. They told WND the city is scheduled to be served with the complaint tomorrow.

The civil rights complaint alleges the city and its representatives have used unreasonable force, "placing their hands on plaintiff, grabbing plaintiff, putting plaintiff in a chokehold and dragging plaintiff for merely exercising his constitutionally protected rights."

The complaint explains how over multiple months and in several locations, city officers have physically barred Marcavage from locations where he wanted to carry his ministry.

It seeks a court declaration that the city violated the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments, a permanent injunction against further limits on his "peaceful preaching on the public streets and sidewalks," nominal compensatory and punitive damages, and an order that Philadelphia police officers be given training concerning the "Constitutional rights and protections afforded to citizens."

"There has been a continuing pattern of harassment and interference with our ministry work," Marcavage told WND. "Our goal is to ensure this behavior does not continue."

He said the physical confrontations have been escalating, to the point he recently was put in a chokehold by a police officer.

His attorney, Theodore Hoppe Jr., said Marcavage has not always faced such problems in other locations where he's taken his message. San Francisco, for example, posed no difficulties, he said.

But in Philadelphia, there have been constants obstacles put up by police and the city, he said.

"It's an ongoing pattern of harassment that he's been subjected to in Philadelphia," he said.

"Through the enforcement of [city] policies and practices, defendants have created a situation where the plaintiff is unable to freely express his constitutionally protected religious viewpoint on the public streets and sidewalks in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, without the constant fear of arrest, sanction or harassment," the lawsuit said.

It explains that talking about his Christian beliefs is part of his faith.

"Included in plaintiff's evangelistic ministry is his duty to educate the American populace of the inherent harm caused by the sinful nature of our country. Such sin includes, but not limited to, homosexuality and other forms of sexual immorality, as well as the innocent murder of children through abortion."

The complaint cites four specific incidents, including on June 10, 2007, when Marcavage wanted to engage in open-air preaching, but was hindered by police officer who condemned his outreach as a "dissident" group.

There were similar developments on June 3, 2008, on Nov. 15, 2009, and on May 3, 2009.

It was then when Marcavage and others went to an area of Philadelphia near the Liberty Bell to preach when the "Equality Forum" was being held.

When he started walking beside an impromptu march that developed, "several members of plaintiffs' group were suddenly, violently and without any warning physically grabbed by members of the Philadelphia Police Department Civil Affairs Unit and dragged away."

When he asked what was going on, police "manhandled and shoved" him, the complaint said.

The civil action cites violations of Marcavage's free speech, equal protection, free exercise, freedom of travel, due process and privacy rights as well as his protections against unreasonable seizure and unreasonable force.

City officials declined to comment before seeing the claims.

Marcavage was one of the original Philadelphia 11 team whose members preached the Gospel at a homosexual festival and were arrested, only to be cleared later.

He also is challenging speech restrictions imposed by the National Park Service at the Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia, which houses the Liberty Bell, the artifact from American history that rang to announce the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence and is inscribed with "Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof," a biblical quotation from Leviticus 25:10.

His organization also was key to the court case that resulted in the state's laws granting special privileges to homosexuals being struck down.