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(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) A preliminary hearing will begin Tuesday for 11 evangelists arrested after a confrontation at a gay festival.
Repent America director Michael Marcavage and 10 followers were charged with criminal conspiracy, rioting and ethnic intimidation after they attempted to break up the October 10 Outfest gay pride block party in Center City.
A motion to block the prosecution was rejected by U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker.
Repent America is represented by the Mississippi-based American Family Association which is involved in a number of cases across the country opposing gay rights.
AFA attorney Brian Fahling called the arrests "harassment" of Christians and said that the charges violated the protesters' freedom of speech.
Judge Tucker in a single sentence ruling rejected the argument.
The confrontation began when the 11 protestors marched to the front of a stage at Outfest and began to yell out Biblical passages to drown out the events on stage.
Police attempted to get the protestors to move to to an area on the edge of the site. Instead they went deeper into the gay crowd. Using a bullhorn they condemned homosexuality. They then got into an argument with a group of Pink Angels, who screamed back.
It was at that point police intervened arresting the 11.
"They were not prohibited from preaching," said Karen Brancheau, a lawyer for the District Attorney's Office. "A reasonable request was made to prevent a situation from becoming dangerous to their own safety as well as the safety of the participants."
©365Gay.com 2004
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