A Texas attorney and longtime First Amendment advocate has accused law enforcement of siding with “anti-Christian leftists” after four pro-life demonstrators were arrested near the Alamo in San Antonio.
The arrests occurred around 10 a.m. Aug. 15, when Texas Department of Public Safety officers confronted street evangelists and abortion opponents displaying pro-life signs in a public area near the historic site.
Video posted that day by Texas attorney CJ Grisham shows DPS officers warning demonstrators they could be arrested unless they remained inside a “designated free speech zone” outside the former Spanish mission and fortress associated with the 1836 Battle of the Alamo.
The officers approached roughly half a dozen demonstrators carrying signs that read “Abolish abortion,” “Abortion is murder,” and “Hate evil, love good, establish justice,” citing Amos 5:15. Police described the location as a “non-public forum” and said demonstrations were restricted to a small section of Plaza de Valero south of the Alamo.
Grisham told The Christian Post that an officer warned the demonstrators they would be arrested unless they immediately left the area.
“When we told them that we have a First Amendment right in a traditional public forum like a sidewalk, they ordered them to leave and gave them a trespass warning if they didn't,” Grisham told CP on Monday.
The protesters refused to comply with what Grisham described as “unconstitutional and unlawful orders,” leading to their arrests on criminal trespass charges, a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to a $2,000 fine and/or six months in jail.
Grisham claimed the DPS officers were enforcing policies created by the Alamo Trust, the private organization that manages the Alamo property on behalf of the state, rather than state or municipal law.
A social media post Sunday later showed the demonstrators gathered closely inside the “designated free speech zone,” known as the “freedom circle.”
Grisham also argued that the incident reflects a broader pattern of law enforcement actions against Christian evangelists and ministries in Texas.
“The big cities are run by anti-Christian leftists and the police do their bidding,” he said. “The police will do anything for a paycheck, including following these unconstitutional rules and enforcing them to the point of violence. It's a sad state of affairs how far our law enforcement community has fallen from their oath.”
Grisham said the next step is to seek dismissal of the charges or challenge them in court, adding that he plans to file a lawsuit on behalf of the protesters once the criminal cases are resolved.
