Christian protesters who disrupted Arab-American festival score victory as Supreme Court refuses to hear case
The United States Supreme Court will not hear the "Wayne County v. Bible Believers" case, in which the sheriffs of Wayne County allegedly violated the rights of Christian activists, who disrupted an Arab-American festival.
In 2012, during the Arab International Festival in Dearborn in suburban Detroit, a group that calls themselves Bible Believers came and began disrupting the festivities. According to Michigan Radio, the protesters told the crowd -- majority of which were Muslims -- that Muslims were going to "burn in hell" and called Prophet Mohammed "a pervert." Detroit Free Press says that they brought with them anti-Muslim signs as well as a pig's head on a spike.
Plastic bottles and rocks were reportedly thrown at the protesters. The sheriff's deputies stepped in and told the Christian activists to leave, otherwise they would be arrested. The group sued the sheriffs, specifically Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon and two deputies, alleging that they were not protected and their freedom of speech was violated.
The sheriffs, according to Detroit Free Press, argued that Bible Believers had caused trouble in the past, including at the Dearborn festival the year before. The authorities had the right to protect the public from violence.
The initial rulings by both the lower court and and an appeals court were in favor of the sheriffs, but this was overturned in 2015 by a full panel of federal appeals court judges at the Sixth Circuit.
"Diversity, in viewpoints and among cultures, is not always easy. An inability or a general unwillingness to understand new or different points of view may breed fear, distrust and even loathing," the ruling reads. "But ... the First Amendment demands that we tolerate the viewpoints of others with whom we may disagree."
The refusal of the Supreme Court to hear the case is deemed as victory for Bible Believers since it means that the ruling by the Sixth Circuit stands.