Police Officer Honored At OK Conference For Upholding The Law
Corporal Steven Armbruster won an Oath Keeper of the year award at the first Oath Keepers conference in October 2009. In April 2007Armbruster refused to violate the constitutional rights of a group of Christians peacefully assembling on the Kutztown University campus.
Video from the protest/rally
Armbruster is not able to discuss the case but the ADF has put out a press release about the issue.
Penn. police officer punished for upholding the law
ADF-allied attorneys file suit to defend officer who wouldn’t violate First Amendment rights of Christians at Kutztown UniversityPHILADELPHIA — ADF-allied attorneys filed a lawsuit against officials of Kutztown University and its police chief Monday on behalf of a police officer who refused to violate the constitutional rights of a group of Christians peacefully communicating on various issues on campus. As a result of Corporal Steven Armbruster’s objection to forcefully removing them from the campus, the Kutztown Univ. Police Dept. suspended him without pay for five days, issued him a disciplinary letter, and threatened him with termination if he takes a similar stand in the future.“Police officers who understand and respect the constitutional rights of American citizens should be commended, not punished,” said ADF-allied attorney Randall L. Wenger, chief counsel for the Harrisburg-based Independence Law Center. “Corporal Armbruster honored his conscience as a Christian and his duty as a civil servant to protect--not violate--these citizens’ free speech rights. He knew that he was being asked to punish the wrong party in the situation.”
On April 18, 2007, approximately 15 members of a Christian group peacefully shared their faith on the KU campus, including speaking about moral issues such as abortion and homosexual behavior. As the members shared their message, about 300 protesters from several organizations and clubs appeared on the scene and loudly opposed the message, causing KU President F. Javier Cevallos and the chief of the KU Police Dept., William Mioskie, to insist the Christian group leave campus.
Shortly after one member of the group was arrested, Armbruster became concerned when Mioskie ordered the officers to “push” others in the group off campus for “disorderly conduct.” Armbruster understood that this would involve arresting or threatening to arrest the rest of the group upon whom the protesters had descended, though he saw no evidence of disorderly conduct among the members of the Christian group.
Armbruster explained to Mioskie that he believed such action would violate the group’s civil rights. Mioskie immediately relieved Armbruster of his duties and told him to leave the scene while other officers executed his orders. After hearing the evidence, the court dismissed the charges against members of the Christian group who were arrested.
Armbruster was placed on paid administrative leave. Following a pre-discipline conference, he was suspended without pay for five working days and warned that he will face termination if he makes a similar decision in the future. He currently has a disciplinary letter on file that jeopardizes his promotion to sergeant.
- Complaint in lawsuit Armbruster v. Cavanaugh filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
Thank you so much for upholding our Constitution when others failed. That took great courage. You are truly a great patriot.
Mr. Armbruster, I have said this in the past and I am going to be saying it in the future, your service, dedication and sacrifices will never fall upon deaf ears when it comes to my children, thank you so much for what you have done, and are continuing to do, even though it always is not going to be the popular decision amongst your peers, hopefully with a lot of hard work we can change that last part..
Mr. Armbruster, I have said this in the past and I am going to be saying it in the future, your service, dedication and sacrifices will never fall upon deaf ears when it comes to my children, thank you so much for what you have done, and are continuing to do, even though it always is not going to be the popular decision amongst your peers, hopefully with a lot of hard work we can change that last part..
LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC!!!
Mr. Armbruster,
Thank you so much for standing for what is right. It’s sad that those who actually stand up for something that is a right provided under our constitution, must suffer such injustice as you have. Please know and take heart that many of us support you and believe in what you have done. Thank you for taking the risks and having the great moral courage you have shown.
Mr. Armbruster thank you so much!Disgusting what is happening leftest decieding what is and what is not legitamite speech according to them!Throwing rocks through the window at North Carolina and shutting down Tom Tancredo speech is aanother sick example!
Steve,
It is with great honor that I call you my friend.
Rand
These people come onto campuses for the sole purpose of inciting an angry reaction. That’s disorderly conduct if I’ve ever heard it.
Corporal Armbruster – It is very difficult to stand up for not doing the wrong thing and I congratulate you on your conduct and your award. My brother – in Korea during the early days of the war there – and I met in some God-forsaken town once during the war and he told me he had refused a direct order to shoot Chinese prisoners. I was proud of him then for showing the right stuff and you and he are in the same formation. Good on you.
What a blessing to know a man who stands on his convictions – Thank you for standing with us on that day. May many others follow in your footsteps!
It is difficult to watch the video without getting angry. I sit there and wonder what happened to my country. It was an honor to me Corporal Armbruster at the conference and it strengthens my faith to see him boldly stand up for the Constitution and his faith.
Hey RanDomino (#7)–no one was forced to stand there and watch these people. It’s the students who were being disorderly here. Anyone who found the group’s message to be offensive simply should have walked away from the area. Just like with racist organizations, for example, who have the constitutional right to proclaim their message in public, those who are offended simply can leave the area without causing a disturbance themselves. If the group is that offensive and no one is there to hear them because the audience all ran off–guess what?–the group will feel that it’s wasting its time and also leave. It’s that simple. Please learn the Constitution, my friend–I haven’t served nearly 13 years in the military just to watch my fellow citizens’ rights being trampled upon by ignorant SOBs.
These people come onto campuses for the sole purpose of inciting an angry reaction. That’s disorderly conduct if I’ve ever heard it.
Comment by RanDomino — November 2, 2009 @ 5:11 pm
Wow! That is a really ignorant statement! So … if I say “Good day” to you and you are offended … you are going to accuse me of incitement?
I find it amusing … and sad … that what used to be wholesome and good in America is used by some people, like yourself, to accuse wholesome and good people of “incitement”.
I am reminded of one of our ex-local deputies that saw the hypocrisy in letting one of his “fellow brothers” off when he caught him drunk driving. He arrested him and booked him. From then on, he was harassed by his “fellow brothers” and accused of various “unbecoming of an officer” type of things and was then finally dismissed by hearsay and lies by his “fellow brothers”.
Corporal Steven Armbruster! CARRY ON!
I am enormously appreciative of civil servants who have the courage to demonstrate that they have a duty to the constitution first and foremost, which means before their superiors. I do, however, have one questions. Was this Christian group being forcibly removed from private or public property? If it was public property then Corp. Armbuster was acting within his duty to the Constitution in refusing his orders, and the university and his superiors were in the wrong. However, if the university is private and the Christian group was on their private grounds, then the university had every right to demand they leave the campus, and Corp. Armbuster was wrong in disobeying his orders. Of course, Corp. Armbuster and anyone else for that matter has the right to refuse orders on a personal moral basis, though that type of refusal has no legal relevance.
Kutztown University is public property…..a part of the PA State System of Higher Education.
Corporal Armbruster,
As an active duty infantry Marine I know how hard it can be to stand up to your colleagues in a situation like this and do the right thing. It takes something more than just courage. God bless you and God keep you. Stay safe.
Thank you Steve for standing up to what is right.We need people like you more than ever as our constitution is being schredded and the government does not understand that they work for us and their only duty is to keep us safe. GOD bless you and GOD bless America.Your family must be very proud of you.aunt Jane
You sir, are a Patriot. May God Bless You.
I am a Kutztown University student and a Christian, thank you Corporal Armbruster for your courage.
Below are photos of cross dressing KU professors and “allied” students at a drag show that occurred on campus. The public needs to know what’s going on at KU:
http://archives.padiversity.org/Kutztown.html
Hearing this story…..I will sleep better at night knowing that there are people out there who still believe in doing the right thing, even if it’s not easy to do so. In this day and age it sometimes blurs as to “WHAT” is right….but person such as Corporal Armbruster are there to help remind us, and he gets my respect for doing so.
I firmly beleive, that Oathkeepers should design and produce a medal &/or ribbon set of “honors” for all such officers such as, Corporal Armbruster, of Kutztown University PD. Said honors awards would be a part of honorees’ standard dress uniforms. Said awards “for outstanding service(s) to the constitution,” would be given at a national awards ceremony, conducted by Oathkeepers (1st, on April 19th, 2010, Lexington Green, MA)to award all such officers recognized each year. There should be a 1st, 2nd & 3rd distinction bars provided to these three annual honorees. All awarded officers: civilian police or fire depts., all services of the military as well; for each state, as well as for “National honors.” Every reciepiant of said honors should be awarded a tax free “bonus” of $1000 each, with the Grand National winner recieving (?) $50,000.
I think that we should start soliciting donations for these awards. For their annual productions and designs, the methods and means to optain research materials and produce investigative files into the backgrounds to support these awards. An Oathkeepers executive board established to meet monthly, to determine such nomoniees for said awards. Said executive commitee would determin annual awards selections, by place, state (additional $500, $1000 state grand champion) and national “Champions” (3rd place – $10,000, 2nd place – $25,000.)
We stand with you! This is the Oath Keepers mission put into actual action.
Thank You!
“These people come onto campuses for the sole purpose of inciting an angry reaction. That’s disorderly conduct if I’ve ever heard it.
Comment by RanDomino”
Sir: that’s what police officers are there for. We protect the rights of citizens regardless of their views. We keep the peace and if one of the “Christian” people became disorderly they would go, or if one of the other group became disorderly then the same would apply to them. No one has a monopoly on free speech and there is no venue other than private property and private gatherings that this would be the case. Your premise that simply by showing up on public property and legally expressing your opinion is inciting disorderly conduct is wrong… who should we arrest at Presidential debates? If an anti-drug coalition stormed the Hell’s Angel’s clubhouse uninvited and began to demonstrate and cause a disturbance, the police would protect the rights of the Hell’s Angels members. That’s the point. Our dictate is not popularity or majority opinion, it is the law and the Constitution. It’s real hard sometimes but that’s why they pay us the “big bucks”. We have to swallow our pride, cast aside our personal prejudices and beliefs, and abide by the Constitution and the law. From the information provided the officer did nothing wrong and it was his DUTY to disobey an unlawful order. It doesn’t matter one “twit” that other officers didn’t except that it may demonstrate that those officers need more training on Constitutional issues as it applies to our jobs.
I think this quote sums up your admirable actions very clearly. Thank You for doing what is right.
“Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular? But, conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right.”—Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Never be afraid to stand as a majority of one.
Sir you are a true American and I feel better knowing there are people like you. Thank you and keep the faith.
I don’t have any opinion about the position of the Christians were peacefully advocating, but I certianly do regarding their right to state it on public property as to those who peacefully disagree.
You are a patriot Corporal!
every officer who violated the civil rights
of citizens should be diciplined and take a class ,lets see as i remember bill of rights 101
kudos to you officer for doing the right thing
Thank you for upholding your oath. We as Americans recognize you as a true patriot.
Im with you Corporal Steven Armbruster
B r a v o !
Sir, I want to express my appreciation to you for forming this organization. Just to know there are like minded people who share the same views as I do. To the officer I commend you. A man has to stand for something or he will fall for anything. I do believe this administration is a cancer on our nation. Thank you again.
I have to say that as a gay man I was offended by the message that the group was delivering. HOWEVER as a former Marine who defended this country and her Constitution, I feel that this officer took appropriate action and I commend him for following the law. It does not matter if the message offends, these people have the same rights as I do to peacefully assemble and disseminate their message. Just like I have the right to not listen.
Thank you for upholding your oath. It only takes one to stand up for others to follow. To protect and to serve is the Police motto, it sounds like you did just that. Thank you for your courage, brother. Semper Fi!!
I doubt highly that this individual would have taken the same stance if the protesters were Muslim, Jews, Moonies or any other religious group.
This is an awesome piece to read and a great man knowing and understanding the very thing that makes our country great. The Constitution. Thank you for honoring that and protecting it.
Thne officer did what is moral and demanded by his oath. He is to be honored and congratulated but the resent day ethic demands that those who take moral stands are to be slandered and attacked.
I doubt highly that this individual would have taken the same stance if the protesters were Muslim, Jews, Moonies or any other religious group.
Comment by Anonymous — November 25, 2009 @ 8:17 pm
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First of all, this writer is missing the point. That group was legally protesting the university’s liberal stance on certain social issues, and there are plenty of other socially-conservative Americans besides Christians, including Orthodox Jews, Muslims, and even many atheists, who are sick of seeing their hard-earned tax dollars being thrown at these public institutions only to have them propagate leftist ideology. The faculty and staff of a public educational institution should never endorse one particular social stance over another, whether it be liberal or conservative. Perhaps then, these protestors won’t find it necessary to show up.
On top of that, I find it extremely ignorant for one to assume that just because the officer is a Christian, he probably would have removed the group from Campus if it were from a non-Chistian religious organization. He was upholding the law, and would have acted the same no matter who was protesting. True Christians also tolerate others’ viewpoints, so I find it apalling that the writer automatically assumes that the officer would “power-trip” against a non-Christian group. Perhaps the writer should examine his/her own prejudices.
When our children attend these schools they are placed into situations where the family, religion and our constitutional freedoms are viscously attacked. This is done in the name of the collective and diversity by far left even Marxist and communist professors. The end goal to all of this is to tear down our once great nation, bring about socialism, and also to enable America to be placed into a global government. However, I doubt few understand this.
Our collage students are told that only whites are racist, that climate change is real and that it’s their parents fault, that speaking certain things from the bible is hate speech. There are extreme homosexual and feminist events being conducted that none dare speak out in opposition to.
Our public universities are supposed to be places where young people in their collage years would be able to examine different world views and decide for themselves. We are far from that time when that was once acceptable in academia.
Martian Luther once said that the battle rages where the Word of God is being attacked. This is very true indeed.
What Oath Keepers should do is to conduct campus outreaches across the nation in a like manor. If we were to get enough freedom loving people to do the same, the consensus would eventually swing in our direction.
Annoying as Christians are, I guess they have rights.
Thanks for standing up for them.
Where the christian members of the school, otherwise it might be trespasing, idk. Odd stuff.
Lots of name-calling from our so-called loving Christians…
“Liberal” and “conservative” are labels attached by others in order to praise or condemn. University administrations have policies. They have every right to be liberal or conservative. We have every right to choose who we associate with.
I find it hard to believe that a college campus anywhere is actually public property. On private property, free-speech rights don’t apply. It would seem likely to me that officers would be duty-bound to remove trespassers if the university asserts that claim.
I agree with others that this has everything to do with the officer’s personal beliefs and nothing to do with right, wrong, or the law.
It is not the burden of those offended to ignore it, it is the burden of those deliberately instigating to pay the price.
As an Atheist I am happy to hear about an officer standing up for the constitution. Thank you! I just hope if the peaceful protest was a group of Muslims, Hindus, Jews, or Atheists you would have behaved in the same upstanding manor.
Free speech and freedom to assemble need to be defended at every level of government!
Lt. Cmdr John USN Ret. you are a moron. This administration has shredded the constitution far less than the previous one. You and your ilk are so blind and take so long to think, you blame the current administration for the woes of the previous administration. The nation faces challenges that have been long coming. You think that the nation was perfect until Obama took over? Open your eyes. Look at the facts. The facts do not agree with you.
DJ Long said: “On top of that, I find it extremely ignorant for one to assume that just because the officer is a Christian, he probably would have removed the group from Campus if it were from a non-Chistian religious organization. He was upholding the law, and would have acted the same no matter who was protesting. True Christians also tolerate others’ viewpoints, so I find it apalling that the writer automatically assumes that the officer would “power-trip” against a non-Christian group. Perhaps the writer should examine his/her own prejudices.”
I call bullshit.
If you had a bunch of gay men protesting while kissing, or a bunch of atheists protesting in Salt Lake City against the LDS Church, I *guarantee* that police will not act in their favour, even if its a peaceful protest. Look at the numerous G20 protest videos shot in Pittsburgh.
So let me get this straight. An officer refuses to remove a religious group, with which he has been associated for years, from a University and is now considered a hero. Would he have received this award for defending a Muslim groups first amendment rights? How about an Atheist?
In response to Christian @ KU’s comment:
“Below are photos of cross dressing KU professors and ‘allied’ students at a drag show that occurred on campus. The public needs to know what’s going on at KU”
Do you really have an issue with people dressing up in drag? I mean, to take you seriously, we would have to discredit Shakespearean actors and actresses (who have historically been in drag) and even Mary Martin’s Peter Pan. On the other hand, if you are upset about people using their freedom of speech to to support LGBTQ rights, then you’ve learned nothing from Corporal Armbruster’s defence of the Constituion.
I am neither a Christian nor an American. Mr. Armbruster, your willingness to stand fast to the laws of the land and to uphold justice and fair play is to be commended.
Keep up the good fight.
As a constitutionalist an Oath Keeper must defend the constitutional rights of every person. This includes the rights of all people to free speech; however, they are free to either agree or disagree with whom they chose.
As a Christian, we know that cross dressing is strictly forbidden:
Deuteronomy 22:5:
The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
I have been told that Corporal Armbruster has served on a personal protection detail that provided protective services to Judy Shepard. So he has upheld the rights of those whom he disagrees with, as a Christian.
Since religion has no evidence to back up its claims of authority, its ideas are irrational, and therefore only violence can be used to promote them which in this case amounts to the threat of a nonsensical “hell” for ones disbelief. I will not be lied to nor threatened and will act in self-defense if someone does so to me, which is why these people were surrounded by a crowd of protesters, angry because they were being threatened with violence. Christians have no right to use the irrational idea of god as an excuse for their threats.
The Repent America guys (the “christian group”) weren’t exercising free speech, they were holding an unscheduled demonstration in an area where students were trying to study and causing a disturbance. If they’d registered that they were going to protest, any disruption they created would not have mattered and thier speech would have been protected. As it stands though, Repent America came onto campus talking about how gay people were going to hell, and that started a counter-demonstration, and police were called into to de-escalate the situation. The only reason Officer Armbruster refused the order was because he was a member of Repent America’s board,
I’m not sure if Tinker v Des Moines applies in this case, as the RA group were not students, but it does help elucidate the difference between “free speech” in an academic environment and disruption. It extends some pretty broad protections, but, well… RA was in the wrong in this case, and Officer Armbruster was just playing sectarian favorites.
BTW, here’s RA’s website:
http://www.repentamerica.com/
And here’s a write-up of the incident:
http://padl.pitt.edu/index.php/record/view/182730
I have to say, as an atheist, socialist, (gasp) liberal arts graduate student, I applaud this officer. Odds are very good that I absolutely loathe the message that the Christian group in question endorsed, yet they had every right to be on campus. And the counter-protesters had every right to be there as well. And they had every constitutional right to shout at one another until their voices failed them, which is likely all the good that would have come of their protest anyway. Campus officials are terrified of making national headlines over an outburst of violence during a protest, which is why they try to shut them down. Yet such incidents are an inevitable and unfortunate result of a healthy freedom of speech. People should get angry over the issues about which they feel strongly. Some will not do so in healthy ways, but we cannot as a people restrict the freedoms of all to prevent the abuses of a few.
The incident happened April 18th 2007 the article you cite is dated February 2nd 2009. As a Christian student who has been witness to the Evangelical outreaches of Repent America, I can tell you that the message is to repent and believe the Gospel. It is not a message of violence as you say. It is a peaceful message, the video clearly shows students in the homosexual and feminist groups as being the bad actors. No permit is necessary to open air preach on campus or to engage in other expressive activities. If you further research the story you will see that the university president became upset and ordered the police chief and Corporal Armbruster to arrest the Christians for Disorderly Conduct. Armbruster refused and was relieved of duty. Another officer arrested two people who can be clearly scene to be standing on the grass holding signs. Obviously, that’s not disorderly conduct. The judge looked at all the evidence in the case and dismissed all the charges. Repent America preaches on Campus about twice a year. So what if officer Armbruster is someone who has open air preached before. Its a widely known fact and no one, including the school or the court found any relevance in it. Thank God he was there to stop the fascism that otherwise would have occurred. It took someone who had some principles and some guts.
He failed to do his job. While the land and school are owned by the state it is not “public land”. The only people who can protest there are the students and staff of the school or groups sponsored by a student group. While I defend these people’s rights to protest their views, no matter how wrong they are, they do not have the right to violate the law. Furthermore they were not protesting anything. They were preaching.
That’s the point of the entire story. Christians do have the right to preach there. Even if some may not like it. He took an oath……
The University’s Campus is its private property. Therefore if it asks a group of people to leave that property, the group should respect that request (out of respect for the ownership of private property.) If the group doesn’t respect the ownership of private property, it is correct that police officers remove the group from the University’s property. The protester’s should have moved their protest to the public streets off the University’s property. There is nothing admirable about sacrificing private property rights in favor of religious views.
BTW, if the University is public property as some people here think (like streets and public parks) would a group of skateboarding highschoolers be allowed to skateboard on the grounds at their leisure, for example?
Well done Mr. Armbruster. Policemen such as yourself help prop up what little faith I have left in our police forces.
The court had already ruled that the state system of higher educations permitting policy was unconstitutional. The system consists of 14 public universities. So when they went to KU the school tried to fabricate a disorderly conduct charge. This was mainly because the students in the above mentioned clubs at the school acted badly. As clearly scene in the video. That’s why it was so important for the officer to stand his ground. Because case law dictates that police officers can not arrest a speaker because they are being heckled. They must arrest the heckler. It’s called the hecklers veto and police officers must abide by it. It’s is not optional.
The case was heard on it’s merits. If he would have been biased, it would have been brought out in court. They would have found the Christians guilty and he would have been fired. However, the evidence was very clearly on the side of the Christians and the charges were dismissed. The officer now has a civil rights lawsuit against the school. Like I said above they open air preach at KU all the time now. The school was forced to do what they simply should have done the first time and that was to validate their constitutional right to be there and protect the speaker.
http://www.repentamerica.com/pressreleases/wcu-casedismissed.html
This is actually a very good study case. Where it does not matter the background of the Oath Keeper…what matters is his or her ability to know the law and to protect the constitutional rights of others. To make a decision to take a principled stand.
We can all do that, a NRA member can protect someone’s second amendment rights and so on.
I know that the public proclamation of the Gospel may not be important to everyone as stated above. However, because this officer laid his job and reputation on the line….others now get to hear the spoken Word of God on a regular basis. People paid the price so the students could hear the Gospel message because they care about them.
Lastly, James or Carl or whatever your name is. If your walking around in women’s clothing, you need to repent!
There is no god. You are all aware of this, right?
So this group was on campus with the purpose of imtimadating those that disagree with them.The fact that people pushed back at these terrorists is not surprising.To remove them from campus should be regarded as preserving public saftey.
@Wayfarer FUCK OFF
If those g–damned university students were offended, what were they doing on a campus? The purpose of a university campus is to protest issues of human rights. Those bad acting students who love death and reject love should be arrested for having the ‘inevitable, calculated reaction.’
How dare they deny us the freedom we deserve, the freedom God gave us, the freedom to spread His word of ‘enjoy Hell, baby killers,’ and ‘hating fags.’
Also you should be fired if you ever don a garment that wasn’t designed for your gender. God’s love will see you to Hell, burning for eternity, faggots.
Several members from Repent America (RA), an evangelical open-air preaching group, made a brief demonstration on campus… Steve Armbruster, a KU Public Safety officer who is affiliated with RA, said there are plans to create a new RA chapter in the Uehigh Valley. Armbruster, who agreed to be interviewed outside his official capacity with the university, said he is in the process of gathering a group of people in the Uehigh Valley and Pocono areas with the eventual goal of starting an RA chapter. Armbruster has been affiliated with RA for four years. He has been to several college campuses with the group, and organized events, such as a demonstration outside the Uehigh Valley courthouse… According to Armbruster, he has “about seven people and over the next year the eventual goal is to establish a chapter, but we’re not there yet.”
This article was written by the “student newspaper” 2 years after the imcident. He can preach with whoever he wants to preach with. His right….
In googling the case, firstly you can see that its all over the internet. It was a well known fact that he was involved open air preaching in the Philadelphia area. And also that the facts were on his side.
The case is huge:
As reported by the Philadelphia gay news:
“This case has the potential to affirm the rights of Pennsylvania police officers to refrain from participating in unconstitutional arrests, despite any illegal orders by their superiors,”.
And also:
Randall L. Wenger, an attorney for Armbruster, said the officer simply followed the Constitution when declining to move the demonstrators off campus. To do so would have violated their free-speech rights and their right to be free of unlawful seizure and/or arrest, he maintained.
“The issue is whether Cpl. Armbruster has a right to refrain from violating other people’s constitutional rights,” Wenger said. “He’s sensitive to the Constitution, and he didn’t want to threaten someone with arrest by enforcing a law that wasn’t applicable.”
Wenger said there was no impending threat of violence to justify removing the demonstrators. If officials had been more patient, both sides eventually would have left the area without any need for arrests, he said.
No wonder Mark Potock and the Southern Poverty Law Center are so concerned about Oath keepers. If there were a core of officers like this…it would be game over for them.
Would you guys be as grateful for the protection of a bunch of atheists protesting at a Christian school or a church?
This is in response to a comment by J.
YES, J, if the Constitutional rights of one group are taken away, then the Constitutional rights of ALL groups are taken away. If Athiests want to have a PEACEFUL demonstration on a Christian University campus, then by all means!!! One does not have to LIKE it, but one must obey the Constitution.
An officer who is a threepercenter should not arrest someone who open carries, unless they break the law. An officer who is a Christian should not arrest Christians, unless they break the law. A federal agent who is a patriot, should not keep lists of people based on their political and religious beliefs. Unless those beliefs are synonymous with criminal activity. How some have been duped into thinking that they have to go along with unjust orders. Great job Oath Keepers…you all have come around at just the right time!!
I’ve done a little research into Kutztown University. Basically, its a public campus and no permit is required to open air preach there. The school’s permitting policy had been deemed unconstitutional prior to this event. But get this… they never changed the policy. Not until after the arrests were made. Strange?? The Christians in the video broke no law, and were subsequently found not guilty by the court. But that’s not everything…the school is known for its openly homosexual faculty and its activism in all things liberal and progressive. When the Christian group returned a few months later the faculty had organized the students in blocking them with large umbrellas.
You can see very clearly by this event that the campus police chief was fully engaged in government endorsed activism by arresting them for no reason. The administration put him on like a glove and usurped his police authority. This is a fine example on the importance of keeping ones oath. Bravo!!!
This is the video of the return visit, the same people holding the umbrbrllas in this video were the ones shouting, racist, sexist anti-gay, born again bigiots, go away. Some are faculty members!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0vjVNH3c_I
Yeah…its actually promoted on the schools web site…it sure wasn’t like this when I was in college…..sad.
http://www.kutztown.edu/glbtqcenter/resources.asp
Dear readers and members,
I applaud the philosphy of OK and the men and women who uphold the U.S. Constitution every day. Thank you so much.
After reading this site in an effort to learn more about the group before joining, I have come across a lot of hatred and intolerance on all sides. We all should maintain our focus on the two things we all have in common, the love of our country and bringing back the sovereignty of our Constitution.
We should keep in mind that this country was not founded on any religion or belief system but instead it was founded on the freedom from religious persecution, pro or con. The COnstitution states that the governament shall make NO laws in regards to religion. Our Founding Fathers were smart and kept religion out of it, so should we.
Again, thank you to all who uphold the U.S. Constitution without prejudice.
Peace and Love….Lizz
Liz, you are wrong on one count…this country was founded on Christian principles, but not on a man made religion, i.e. Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, etc.If you try to eliminate this important fact, you are no better than the Social Lib.s