Thomas More Law Center Announces Impending Civil Suit against Dearborn

For all those who've been asking, yes, a civil suit will be filed against the City of Dearborn for violating our Constitutional rights. The sad part is that this could have been avoided. If police had respected our rights at the festival, there wouldn't have been a lawsuit. If the city had apologized after arresting us, acknowledging their wrong, I doubt any of us would have been interested in a lawsuit. (We were assaulted by multiple security guards last year, and we never pursued a lawsuit.) But instead of acknowledging their wrong and apologizing, the City of Dearborn declared war on us, blasting us with an endless supply of libelous accusations (read the Mayor's letter), sending an obsessed prosecutor against us (who assured us in court that "it's not personal"), bringing multiple liars (e.g. Roger Williams and Corporal Kapanowski) to the stand to bear false witness against us, and ultimately convicting Negeen because Judge Mark Somers seems to think it's perfectly acceptable for police officers to manhandle a teenage girl who hadn't even been accused of a crime. Yes, we're finally ticked off, and during the trial, our resolve to seek justice was solidified. We're happy that the Thomas More Law Center has decided to move forward with a civil case.

A jury on Friday acquitted four Christian missionaries accused of breaching the peace at the Dearborn International Arab Festival in June, but their attorney says the legal battle is far from over.

Robert Muise of the Thomas More Law Center plans to file a civil lawsuit on their behalf against the City of Dearborn "in short order," he said this morning on WJR-AM 760.

"They spent a night in jail for doing nothing but attending an Arab festival and daring to discuss their faith," he told host Frank Beckmann. "That can't happen in the United States."

Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad previously explained the evangelists "caused a stir" at the festival, and a police report indicated one of the missionaries was "screaming into the crowd" leading officers to arrest the group "to gain control of the situation and avoid a possible riotous crowd."

But the missionaries -- members of the Act 17 Apologetics group, which openly claims Islam is a false religion -- video recorded their interactions at the festival, evidence Muise said convinced the jury they did nothing to provoke a confrontation. Read More.

***NOTE*** Since I am commenting on legal matters, I want to make it perfectly clear that my comments and thoughts here are my own, based on my observations at our trial and the legal motions I have read. I have not consulted anyone else in writing this blog post. Any concerns about my comments should therefore be directed towards me.