WATERTOWN, WI (WSAU) – A video of police snatching a Watertown Christian teenager’s microphone and handcuffing him as he read out loud from the Bible on a public sidewalk earlier this week has gone viral.
According to a video taken by a bystander, police took issue with the teen causing too much noise outside of an open-to-the-public Pride in the Park drag show event and did not stop when prompted.
I don't know the details of this, yet, but ask you to pray for this young man, Marcus, who was arrested. He is one of our students at @IOPT_FL. Ask the Lord to protect him, comfort his family, & cause justice to prevail. https://t.co/VyCnSeN19w
— Tom Ascol @tomascol (@tomascol) August 1, 2023
Wisconsin Right Now reports that Watertown does have an ordinance that references an “amplified music permit,” but does not specifically mentation that a permit is needed to speak on a public sidewalk saying, “No public address systems or sound amplification devices shall be used in any public park or public recreation area” without a permit.
Ben Zeisloft of the Republic Sentinel identified the teen street preacher as Marcus Schroeder, who was there attending a protest with around 200 other members of his church.
The minister at Mercy Seat Christian Church spoke to Zeisloft after the incident, saying, “It was open to the public, so the public’s right to free speech carries with it. One member was arrested later in the day for preaching on the public sidewalk outside the venue and is being charged with unlawful use of sound amplification and resisting arrest.”
This incident is similar to one that has resulted in a lawsuit in Reading, Pennsylvania. Damon Atkins was detained back in June for reading aloud from the Bible on the other side of the public sidewalk outside a Pride event. The Disorderly Conduct charges against Atkins were eventually dropped but he is now suing multiple city officials for what he believes to be violating his First and Fourth Amendment rights.
Both Schroeder and another teen who was later released with a warning were arrested and Watertown’s police chief, Robert Kaminski, has not responded to media requests for comment at this time.
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