Oooooo ourage of outrages!
Here’s the Thomas More Center’s press release, which notes that there was trouble at last year’s Dearborn Arab festival too. Evidently the cops were worried that the presence of Christian lit at a mostly Muslim event might produce some “excitement,” so they solved the problem by punishing the party that tried to peacefully exercise its rights. Note to the defendants: Don’t forget to ask for damages. A lot of damages.
The hysteria in the comments is quite funny. Sometimes when you try to IRL troll, you get the IRL banhammer.....
In reality: the cops did it to prevent trouble, any charges will most likely be dropped. From the perspective of the cops---what do you want on your report at the end of the night? "Arrested religious crazy" or "Broke up holy war during street fair".
This is, of course, Pride Weekend here in Chicago. The wife and I take the baby because it's a great family event loaded with the kind of inclusiveness that hardened Christians purport to represent. Attendance these days 'officially' approaches a half a million, but that's counting the parade only, and I don't think anybody argues with the idea that the whole of the pride event having a million attendees.
One of the things that can be counted on year after year, are white panel vans from the suburbs rolling in with their packs of derranged Jesus loons to 'protest'. A great source of pride amongst Chicagoans is our neighborhood system, and the LGBT community is largely recognized as a neighborhood owner. That is to say, much like the Irish or the Italians or the Polish - they have their own area, their own culture, their own resturants, and their own parties. The jeebus types are largely from South of the Mason Dixon (or something---who cares---somewhere that's not here) and don't really have a great understanding of exactly what life is the big city is (they are, after all---just country mice). So in effect, these Fred Phelps wannabes are doing an ever so hilarious reenactment of the first few moments of the famed Harlem sandwich board scene from Die Hard - really only making total fools of themselves. Thankfully, the Chicago Police sit on top of these people to preclude them from getting violent. Really it's quite sad that the event has to be tainted with police presence due to these urban foreigners.