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March 23, 2007

Soulforce activists jailed in Texas, threatened with citations in Mississippi

Soulforce activists jailed in Texas, threatened with citations in Mississippi

Two weeks into Equality Ride 2—in which 50 young gay and straight activists affiliated with Soulforce are touring the country in two buses with a mission to initiate dialogue at 32 Christian colleges that have policies silencing or excluding LGBT students—participants have been jailed in Waco, Texas, where Riders attempted to visit Baylor University, and have been threatened with citations at Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss.

Currently, five Equality Riders and one Baylor student are being held in McClennan County Jail in Waco. They were arrested Tuesday on criminal trespassing charges after writing messages of support for LGBT students in chalk on sidewalks on the Baylor campus. According to a Soulforce press release, bail has been set at $2,000 each.

Also on Tuesday, eastbound riders were informed by Clinton police that they would be cited if they attempted to gather in a group of four or more near the campus of Mississippi College—this after being told during earlier negotiations that the riders were considered terrorists and would be treated "just like America dealt with 9/11," according to the release. Soulforce immediately contacted the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, which intervened on the group's behalf. After ACLU-Mississippi staff attorney John Williams cited Supreme Court precedents establishing prior restraint on the right to assemble as "the most serious and least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights," Clinton police immediately withdrew the restrictions.

On Thursday riders were planning a peaceful vigil on a public sidewalk adjacent to the Baylor campus, while on Friday the westbound riders were planning to march around the outskirts of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where they've already received a notice of trespassing and proclamation of arrest if they enter church or university property. (The Advocate)

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