Saturday, June 14, 2008
In May I posted a letter from pro-Israel Christian activist Mark Nystedt concerning his arrest outside a Boston Episcopal church: Leafleting Activist Arrested Outside Episcopal Church in Boston
The Jerusalem Post Christian edition has picked up the story. Here is a scan:
Click to enlarge. I asked Mark to clarify something in the article. According to Mark:
I did not call parishioners/worshippers scumbags as they exited the church. I treated people as they treated me. MOST ignored me, and I ignored them. Some pleasant, as was I. A few disrespectful, with whom I stood my ground. Some Cathedral and Diocesan employees harassed me - most notably their foul-mouthed custodian who ejected me from public property under threat of arrest (the Cathedral's brick patio encroaches onto public sidewalk).
To : Solomonia.com
I'm writing about your article on Mark Nystedt who picketed the meeting of an anti , Israel Epicopal group in Boston
I have talked with Nystedt and the facts he gave me are as follows: He had place his chair on the sidewalk with a sign saying "Bishop Shaw is a Jew Hater."
The Church called the police and made a complaint to the police and as a result of their complaint, he was arrested handcuffed and put in a cell from three pm to three am.
If he was arrested, it had to be based on some kind of charge and based on what Mark says, his conduct would not support any kind of Charge.
During the next few days, I will try and obtain a copy of the the complaint that was filed with the police department.
If it turns out to be a complaint that cannot be supported by any evidence, I think Mark should file a civil suit against the Churd for false arrest or for malicious prosecution.
Are there any lawyers out there who want to help ?
Alan Bernson
factorfund@aol.com
Good for you for not shying away from Nystedt. Many would, but he doesn't come across as the unkept and unthinking "street preacher" at all, to the contrary.
TY for posting. I'm not a street preacher. I just sit and listen to the radio via a headset with signage, fliers, and literature. If someone wakes me up, I hope they go away. I can get nasty when I need to be; I'm a submarine Navy vet. 11,000 fliers taken during last 14 months here and at Copley and Harvard Square, many letters, many radio call-ins, many chats wherever I go. A few have "come to Jesus" figuratively. Not bad for not being a street preacher. After I make it painfully obvious to the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts that they are not as inclusive as they ought to be, I am an ex-Episcopalian, I WILL RETURN to the scene of the crime!!! Mark.