A March 2 WorldNetDaily article by Bob Unruh perpetuates previous false and misleading claims by WND regarding a 2007 incident involving a street preacher’s disruption of a gay event in Elmira, New York.
Unruh asserts that street preacher Julian Raven was merely “praying in a public park” when he was arrested for disorderly conduct. He parrots the Alliance Defense Fund’s account of the incident, which claims that Raven and his followers “made their way to an area in front of the stage and began to pray silently while lying prostrate in the grass.” Unruh made no effort to obtain new reaction to the story, though he repeats a quote from a police officer first gathered in 2007.
In fact, as we’ve detailed, Raven has a history of disruptive behavior, and his preaching style has been described as “zealous and militant.” And portraying the incident as merely “praying in a public park” is highly misleading — it was done in front of a stage at the event with the apparent goal of disrupting it. Why else would you stage such a stunt in front of a stage?
As we’ve also detailed, the fine Raven faces for his disorderly conduct is $100 plus court costs. The ADF has in all likelihood spent many times more than this defending an obviously guilty man than it would if it had paid the fine out of its (or WND’s) petty cash drawer.