U.S. Pastor Arrested for ‘Reading the Bible Aloud’ Vindicated in Court Appeal [INTERVIEW STORY]
The city of Seattle “effectively made reading the Bible aloud a crime,” when a Washington pastor who was first arrested for sharing the gospel at a protest against the pro-life overturn of Roe vs. Wade, then a second arrest, at the annual Pride Fest, according to a First Institute lawyer as reported by Billy Hallowell at CBN News.
BY ALEX MURASHKO
MEDIA ON MISSION
However, the pastor “scored a major victory after being arrested at least twice for preaching the Gospel in public,” CBN News reports in its YouTube video description of the interview with the lawyer: Pastor Terrorized, Arrested For ‘Reading the Bible Aloud’ Scores ‘Complete Victory.’ (Click on link or SEE BELOW.)
From CBN News:
Pastor Matthew Meinecke’s battle against Seattle officials recently came to a close, according to Nate Kellum, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute. The lawyer told CBN News how the situation began in June 24, 2022, how it was resolved — and why it matters.
“What had happened was the city of Seattle effectively made reading the Bible aloud a crime,” he told CBN News. “And it first occurred on June 24, 2022. I don’t know if that date sticks out to you, but that was the date that the U.S. Supreme Court rendered the Dobbs decision. That was a decision that overturned Roe vs. Wade.” Meinecke was reportedly preaching during a huge protest against the decision in downtown Seattle, and Kellum said the preacher felt it would “be a perfect opportunity to share the Gospel.”
“So, he took his Bible and he goes out there to read the Bible,” he said. “He has very earnest pro-life beliefs, but that was not his purpose. He really just wanted to share the Gospel. Meinecke started reading from the Book of John and “it was not received well.” “Some protesters started to crowd in around him, started saying some inflammatory, derogatory things, [and] made him feel uncomfortable,” Kellum said. “So … he moved off a few feet away to a new spot, but then, at that spot, some protester grabbed his Bible and started ripping the pages out of it.”
And that’s not all. Kellum said the situation turned physical after Meinecke grabbed another Bible and resumed reading. That’s when he alleges “Antifa members got involved.” “They started to pick up Pastor Meinecke,” Kellum said, noting they carried him around a block before dropping him on the cement. Despite the pain and danger, Meinecke found another spot and started breaching again. That’s when he was again confronted and reportedly knocked down. Kellum said the police intervened at that point, but rather than helping Monike, they said “he was the problem.”
“Pastor Meinecke knew … he had a First Amendment right to share his views,” the attorney said. “And so he wasn’t just willing to walk away, [and] tried to reason with the police officers, but they arrested him, and they held him for several hours in a detaining cell until after the abortion rally had ended, really thwarting his opportunity to share the Gospel.”
BILLY HALLOWELL
Billy Hallowell is a journalist, commentator and digital TV and podcast host who has covered thousands of the biggest faith and culture stories. He has worked in the media for more than two decades and is the author of several books.
