Pastor Issued Police Citation for Speech Offending Texas University Students

Carrie Dedrick | Updated: Feb 16, 2016

Pastor Issued Police Citation for Speech Offending Texas University Students

A pastor was reportedly issued a police citation for speaking out against STDs in Texas. According to Christian Today, the pastor, who was an intern for Campus Ministry USA, received the citation because his speech offended students at the University of Texas at Austin. 

A video of the incident surfaced online. A police officer told the pastor, who has been identified only by the first name Joshua, “We had somebody that was offended by the gestures you were making."

He continued, "And that's our job – to make sure that doesn't happen, because these are students just walking in this mall right here. So the job here is to write you up as a citation, disorderly conduct, for offending someone.”

"It doesn't matter, freedom of speech. Someone was offended – that's against the law. I don't want to argue with you. That's against the law," he finished.

Brother Jed Smock, head of Campus Ministry USA, reported the citation was dropped after a lawyer called police on behalf of the preacher. 

Ari Cohn of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education said, "If offending someone on campus is now grounds for criminal citations, students wishing to express themselves will much more likely censor themselves, or simply refrain from speaking at all.”

Publication date: February 16, 2016



Pastor Issued Police Citation for Speech Offending Texas University Students