Feb
1

Persecution Alert: California

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Matthew Snatchko, who works with youth at his church, was interrupted in the middle of a conversation with two people by a security guard at the Galleria Mall in Roseville, Calif.. A second guard joined the confrontation and told Snatchko he was being placed under citizen’s arrest for “trespassing.”  Interestingly enough the conversation was between 3 willing participants.

The pastor said he agreed to leave but instead, the guards grabbed him, roughly shoved him against a storefront window and handcuffed him tightly enough to draw blood. Snatchko later was taken to the police station where he was booked on charges of battery and trespassing.

A short time later the charges were dropped, but officials with the Pacific Justice Institute decided to pursue a case against the mall over the impact of the policy on free speech.

Arguments have moved to the appellate court level in a California case in which a man talking to two willing strangers in a shopping mall was arrested because the subject of the conversation was God.

This is something for us to watch for sure…