Alabama Court Acquits Minister Arrested for Sidewalk Evangelism
by Allie Martin
May 17, 2004
(AgapePress) - An Alabama court has acquitted a street preacher charged with disorderly conduct for proclaiming the gospel in public.Matthew Bourgault is head of Consuming Fire Ministries, an organization that takes the gospel of Jesus Christ nationwide. In March, Bourgault traveled to Montgomery, Alabama, to preach to students of Alabama State University. But since he was there during spring break, he decided to preach on public sidewalks in the downtown area.
Bourgault began preaching, and some time later, police arrived and arrested him, charging him with disorderly conduct. However, last week a municipal court judge acquitted the street preacher of all charges.
Joe Murray, an attorney with the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy, describes what the legal team had on its hands in Bourgault's case as "a disfavored message" and "an attempt to shut that message down." However, the attorney says, "the First Amendment will not permit that, and it was not going to happen on our watch."
The attorney feels Bourgault got in trouble primarily for the content of his message, which a police official characterized, during his trial testimony, in very hostile and anti-Christian terms.
"We were down there and testimony was being given by the arresting officer, in which he basically told the court that the basic message of salvation and repentance is abusive and obscene," Murray says. The Christian legal counsel adds: "It is just amazing what's going on in the streets today, whether it be Montgomery, Alabama, or New York City, New York, or Los Angeles, California."
Murray calls Bourgault's acquittal a major victory for free speech -- one proving that, in Montgomery, freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment are applicable to all citizens.
