On Tuesday, a viral video circulated showing Christian protesters being arrested last weekend outside a drag queen event at the “Pride in the Park” celebration in Watertown, Wisconsin: Ben Zeisloft of The Republic Sentinel reports that the young man in the video is Marcus Schroeder. Another young man, Nick Proell, was detained but released soon after with a warning.
The man who filmed the video, Jason Storms, said the two young men were part of a group from Mercy Seat Christian Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Around 200 people had gathered to protest the drag queen event.
“The police, per orders from city leaders, arrested several young people. Three were arrested earlier in the day while inside the park praying and talking to attendees, and then released with warnings,” said Storms, who serves as minister of evangelism at Mercy Seat Christian Church.
🚨BREAKING: Young man arrested for sharing the Bible on a public sidewalk
Blatant violation of the 1st amendment of The Constitution. Every one of those cops should be fired and sued. pic.twitter.com/ef8zBXSf5c
— TONY™️ (@TONYxTWO) August 1, 2023
“It was open to the public, thus the public’s right to free speech carries with them. One 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.”
The major issue, it seems, was the use of a microphone and loudspeakers without a permit. In the video, police also indicate that they had warned the group about where they could protest.
Storms notes that the “Pride in the Park” event, with sessions aimed at children, was in greater violation of the law. …there were several dozen police officers assembled to protect the drag queen event, during which performers dressed in lingerie were seen “dancing and gyrating in front of little children, who were invited to give them one dollar bills.” Wisconsin law forbids individuals from causing a minor to view or listen to “sexually explicit conduct.”
The event actually made national headlines: Not because of the young Christian men who were detained, but because a neo-Nazi group that looks suspiciously like the Patriot Front group that looks suspiciously like some psyop showed up to give the Democratic governor something to denounce.
