ADF attorneys file motion to dismiss criminal cases against silenced Gideons
Men were harassed, arrested after distributing Bibles on public sidewalkPLANTATION KEY, Fla. — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a motion Thursday to dismiss two criminal cases against two members of Gideons International. Ernest Simpson and Anthony Mirto were arrested, charged with trespassing, and booked into jail after distributing copies of the Bible on a public sidewalk.
“The First Amendment applies to all protected speech on a public sidewalk, including Christian speech,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman. “The Gideons had every right to continue their peaceful distribution of free Bibles.”
On Jan. 19, Simpson and Mirto began distributing free copies of the Bible on a public sidewalk outside Key Largo School but did not step on to school grounds. Both men were arrested, booked, and charged with trespassing after the school’s principal called police (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4006).
The motion to dismiss filed by ADF attorneys in the County Court in and for Monroe County, Florida, in State of Florida v. Simpson and State of Florida v. Mirto is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/MirtoMTD.pdf.
“The charges against Mr. Simpson and Mr. Mirto, who were simply exercising their constitutional right to free speech, are entirely without merit and must be dropped immediately,” Cortman explained.
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
