The First Amendment Takes a Beating in Dearbornistan

Dearbornistan, MI (previously known as Dearborn) has become a hotbed of radical Islamic activity.  If Sharia law is ever going to creep into an American city, it will start there.

Terry Jones, the Florida pastor that burned a Koran, planned a demonstration at a large mosque in Dearborn but his rights to protest were usurped by a bizarre legal proceeding that was clearly unconstitutional:

The stunning developments came after a Dearborn jury sided with prosecutors, ruling that Terry Jones and Wayne Sapp would breach the peace if they rallied at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. Critics slammed the decision to jail them, the court proceedings, and Wayne County prosecutors, saying they violated the men’s Constitutional rights.

Prosecutors asked Judge Mark Somers for $45,000 bond. Somers then set bond at $1 each for the two pastors. They refused to pay. And Somers ordered them remanded to jail.

Chaos broke out outside court as opposing factions yelled at each other. Jones and Sapp were led out of court by Dearborn police. That left Jones' supporters stunned, given that he hadn't even attempted to go to the mosque yet.

Late Friday the two pastors posted their $1 bond and left jail, according to Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly Jr.

"I'm relieved that no one got hurt," said O'Reilly. "I was concerned about Terry Jones' safety as much as anyone else's."

But civil rights experts and advocates said that Wayne County prosecutors and Dearborn authorities acted improperly.

Robert Sedler, a constitutional law professor at Wayne State, said the trial was “bizarre.”

“The judge should have thrown out the case,” Sedler said. The ACLU of Michigan also strongly criticized the case.

“This is a complete abuse of the court process, and all those involved should be ashamed,” said Rana Elmir of the ACLU Michigan office. “The prosecutor’s office and the Dearborn court turned the First Amendment on its head. What happened today should never have happened.”

Elmir, Sedler and even Muslim leaders said the prosecutor’s actions had played right into the hands of Jones by giving a him a platform and his supporters a reason to bash Dearborn, whose sizable Muslim community drew Jones here.

“This is a true miscarriage of justice,” Elmir said. “Rev. Jones has committed no crime. He should never have been facing jailed time for his protected speech.”

Sedler said “the whole thing is unconstitutional,” citing U.S. Supreme Court cases that would back up Jones’ right to protest.

Regardless of what you think about Jones, every American should be shocked that a citizen's right to protest was so easily taken away because the subject of that protest might have reacted violently. Just recently the Supreme Court ruled that protests against military funerals had to be allowed as a free speech right. The fact that they might get a violent reaction was never considered.

We've also seen marches held by white supremist groups that were accompanied by law enforcement to prevent violence, but never were they banned or "peace bonds" ordered.

It sounds to me that court system in Dearborn has already been corrupted by the radical Islamists and perhaps this judge and jury acted out of fear of literally losing their heads over this decision. Whatever the reason, it was wrong and absolutely indefensible.  Freedom means that sometimes we have to allow things with which we disagree by disagreeable people.