Pro-lifers defeat another trespassing charge

Pro-lifers defeat another trespassing charge
Colleges down 0-2 as 'citizen's arrest' of 3 found to be invalid

Another trespassing case brought by a college against a troupe of pro-life protesters has been dismissed, according to officials with the United States Justice Foundation.

The defendants were from Campus Life Tours' Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust team, which travels around the country from school to school, setting up an information area to give students data about the holocaust of abortion.

As WND reported just days earlier, prosecutors in South Dakota dropped a case in which one team member, Joey Cox, 18, was arrested because of a requirement at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City that protesters fill out a form and wait two weeks to obtain their First Amendment freedom of speech rights.

Now the USJF, led by Gary G. Kreep, has confirmed another trespassing case, against Cox and two other team members, has been dropped.

Charges against Cox, Kortney Blythe and Amanda Lord were filed after they distributed pro-life literature and discussed abortion with students on the Cypress College campus in Cypress, Calif.

They were cited after a "citizens' arrest" initiated by Karen Cant, the school's director of budget and finance, officials said.

She had confronted the three activists and demanded that they could only distribute literature or talk to students within a specially designated "free speech zone," according to the USJF.

"When the three declined to move to the two designated 'free speech zones,' both of which are in remote areas of the campus, not heavily trafficked by students, and both of which were currently under construction, Ms. Cant had them arrested for failing to leave 'part of the property not open to the general public upon request of the owner,'" according to the foundation.

USJF joined the case a short time later, at the request of the Life Legal Defense Fund, which is a pro-life legal organization headquartered in Napa, Calif., officials said.

Allison Paino, who served as the foundation's lead attorney on the case, pointed out to the Orange County district attorney, which had filed the counts, the law under which the protesters were charged does not apply to a community college that is open to the public.

"After performing their own research, the Orange County district attorney's office agreed, and dismissed all charges," the USJF said.

"It is clear from the facts of the case that the sole objective of Karen Cant and Cypress College officials was to silence the pro-life message being shared on their college campus," Paino said. "This attempt to silence all but politically correct speech on our college campuses is, unfortunately, not an uncommon event, and we at USJF are glad that we were able to, at the request of LLDF, assist these three activists, who were arrested simply for exercising their First Amendment Rights."

USJF, a non-profit, conservative, legal action, foundation, is headquartered in Ramona, Calif. Since its founding in 1979, USJF has been involved in the "protection of the constitutional rights of United States citizens and in the protection of the public from governmental corruption and government enforced political correctness."

The South Dakota event, in May, was a problem from the beginning, Blythe earlier told WND.

"No sooner had we pulled into visitor parking on campus, when a squad of administration and police swarmed our van demanding for us to leave. I tried negotiating with them, but obviously this college has a problem with peaceful First Amendment activity," said Blythe, a tour director, told WND.

Cox was arrested, authorities reported.

"The Constitution was thrown out the window and replaced with campus regulations that didn't even apply," said Blythe. "The Campus Life Tour has visited dozens of schools this semester, and we have demonstrated our willingness to work with school officials time and time again.

"But we absolutely refuse to give up our First Amendment right to free speech – a right for which Americans have fought and died. The lives of thousands of preborn babies are on the line, and we will not be bullied into leaving a campus before we even have a chance to speak to the students about the tragedy of abortion," she said.

Sarah E. Seljeskog, who was assigned to prosecute the South Dakota case, instead closed it down, concluding it was in the "best interest of justice."

Attorney Stephen Wesolick, who is allied with the Alliance Defense Fund, said the school's requirement to apply for and obtain permission two weeks in advance to sell things on campus didn't apply to free speech.

"The Constitution does not require individuals to obtain permission before they exercise their First Amendment Rights," he said. "Free speech is a protected right under the Constitution and does not require adherence to this type of school policy."