China: House Churches In Multiple Provinces Attacked By Local Government

04/27/2012 China (ChinaAid) - ChinaAid has recently learned that house churches in several province have recently encountered intense persecution by local authorities, a handful of which are reported below.

1) At the end of March, a house church in Daqing, Heilongjiang province held a Bible training session that was raided by Domestic Security Protection agents and officials from the Bureau of Religious. More than 150 church leaders were apprehended, including 10 foreigners (nationalities unknown). The local government has imposed a strict news blackout and threatened family members to keep quiet, so efforts to find out how many people remained in custody have yielded no updates.

2) On April 1, brother Jia Deji, the head of the evangelism group at a government-approved Three-Self church in Jiazhuang village, Shenqiao township, Zhecheng county in Henan province, was expelled from the evangelism group by the local chairman of the China Christian Council and the Three-Self Patriotic Association, Pastor Zhang Yongqiang, and also ordered to stop preaching. Brother Jia holds an evangelism certificate jointly issued by the provincial, municipal and county governments. However, in February, he invited Pastor Zhang Mingxuan, head of the Chinese House Church Alliance, to his home to hold two days of thanksgiving services, and he had attended house church services at the home of Xu Tietou, an elder of the Zhukou town house church in Taikang county. Xu is a paralytic who has not been able to move for 40 years.

3) On April 14, 53 local house church leaders were arrested in Ye county, Henan province, while holding a Bible study. To date, more than 20 people remain in custody.

4) On the afternoon of April 22, local government officials led more than a dozen mafia types masquerading as Christians to the Hongqiao Church in Xianan District, Xianning city, in Hubei province, where they smashed open the donation box and stole the money, then changed the locks on the church doors. They also forced all the Christians to leave the church, and beat Elder Xu Shizhen. Leading the attack were the directors of the religious affairs bureau, one surnamed Yang and the other named Wu Suqiong.

The other government officials involved were the chairmen of the local China Christian Council and the Three-Self Patriotic Association: Mao Yao, Fan Baosheng and Ceng Pingsheng. In the past two years, one of the church’s lay leaders who frequently takes the pulpit and preaches, ShiShanghai, has been beaten three times by these government officials. The construction of Hongqiao Church’s church building was funded entirely by donations from church members, and construction was personally overseen by church leader Xu Shizhen(Source).

Music video from Trip Lee

Here is a music video by a Christian rapper Trip Lee, from a song off of his new album the Good Life, which was released on April 12, 2012. The song is called I'm Good which is featuring a fellow Christian rapper named Lecrae:

The purpose of this video seems to be to bring awareness to the suffering that our brethren in Christ are facing in countries like Asia, China, and Pakistan as signified by the man being beat to death by a guy holding a machine gun. It's also signified by the lyrics of our brother in Christ rapping.

1st Anniversary of this blog

A year ago today, I started this blog in hopes that the Lord Jesus Christ would be glorified as I tried to bring awareness to the persecution that our brethren in Christ were facing in other lands and even the less violent type of persecution me and my brethren face here in the west even though it is not as violent as it is over in places like China, Pakistan and Egypt. I also intended to write on verses in the Bible and how they are relevant to persecution and our proper response to them. Unfortunately I've been slacking off on posts and the like so I'll get back on to doing that from now on. Happy First Anniversary!!!!!!!!

Sudanese President Accused of Inciting Violence against Christians

It's so unsurprising to see that this ruler is (allegedly) showing hatred for God by persecuting his adopted children. My Sudanese brethren in the risen Lord Jesus Christ are in my prayers.

04/23/2012 Sudan (Sudan Tribune)-The secretary-general of the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), Yasir Arman, has blamed “racist” statements of Sudan’s President Omer Al-Bashir for encouraging a mob of fundamentalist Islamists to attack a church in the capital Khartoum.
An Evangelical Church in the Sawafi area of Khartoum was attacked and set on fire Friday by a group of fundamentalist Islamists mobilized by hard-line cleric Mohamed Abdel-Karim despite a police cordon in the area.

A pastor named Yusuf Matar Kodi told Agence France Presse (AFP) on Sunday that the group had “burned Bibles and torched the school for training clergy on the farm, as well as the residence of the students."

In a press statement on Monday, Arman said that the assailing group had been motivated to burn the Church as police forces “stood and watched” by the “racist” statements of Al-Bashir.
Arman was referring to a number of derogatory remarks Al-Bashir has made against leaders of South Sudan following the latter’s military takeover two weeks ago of oil-rich Heglig region on the disputed borders between the two neighbors.

In separate occasions, Al-Bashir described the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in South Sudan as “an insect” whose members must be disciplined by “the stick,” in what some have linked to a well-known Arab phrase that says “don’t buy a slave without the stick.”

The predominantly-Christian South Sudan seceded from Sudan to form an independent state in July last year but an estimated 500,000 southerners whose Sudanese citizenship has been revoked are still living in the Muslim-dominated north.

According to Arman, the fighting over Heglig has revealed the “racist face” of Al-Bashir’s regime, accusing its leaders of making insults that dwarfed those of former Apartheid leaders in South Africa.
“Al-Bashir did not only offend South Sudan’s people but also offended the northerners he rules in their names,” Arman said.

The rebel official also said that Al-Bashir’s remarks represent an insult to all of Africa and every black person including all northerners and mediators of the African Union. Arman went on to condemn the attack on the church and warned that the move will harm the integrity of Sudan’s social fabric(Source).

Islamic Group Kills Seven in North Nigeria

The Lord Jesus Christ said that a day would come that when people kill His followers they will think they are doing God a favor (John 16:2). This article shows that Islam is the fulfillment of that prediction.

04/20/2012 Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen from radical Islamist sect Boko Haram have killed at least seven civilians in the past 24 hours in a spate of attacks in northern Nigeria, police said on Thursday.
Boko Haram, which wants to carve an Islamic state out of Africa's most populous nation split evenly between Muslims and Christians, has killed hundreds in almost daily gun and bomb attacks this year.

"A water vendor and a customs officer were killed in Abbaganaram and Kasuwan custom areas on Wednesday in the evening, while 5 bakers were killed at the Kasmi Bakery on Thursday," Samuel Tizhe, spokesman for police in the sect's northeastern heartland of Maiduguri, said.

A bomb near a church in northern city Kaduna on Easter Sunday killed more than 30 people. This week, the U.S. embassy in Nigeria warned its citizens that the group might be planning attacks on the capital Abuja, which Nigerian authorities quickly dismissed as alarmist. The group has struck the capital a few times, but its attacks are mostly concentrated in the largely Muslim north(Source).

NASCAR Driver Loses Sponsor Over Christian Faith

04/19/2012 United States (Charisma) - Although many applaud the prayer meetings in NASCAR circles, not everyone is willing to tolerate Christian values on the race track. Indeed, NASCAR driver Blake Koch is being persecuted for his faith. Following California’s Royal Purple 300, Koch sat just 28 points out of the top 10 driver standings—but he was forced to race with a blank car after losing his primary sponsor because of a controversy over his Christianity.

Koch had partnered with The Rise Up and Register Campaign, which works to educate people on the importance of voting in the 2012 elections. But ESPN would not allow the ad to air because of its so-called political and religious overtones.

“I didn’t think that my faith in Christ would have an impact on whether or not a sponsor could air a commercial or not,” Koch told Fox & Friends on March 29. “The one thing I will not do is deny my faith just because a particular sponsor might not like the way I express my faith, which I do on my own time.”

ESPN could not immediately be reached for comment(Source).

Christians In Peril As Sudan And South Sudan Head Towards War

When Southern Sudan (populated with mainly our brethren in Christ and animists) seceded from the North on July 9, 2011, it was thought this would herald an era of peace for the south that was never seen. However as we see in this article such has not been the case.

04/16/2012 South Sudan (ANS)-The threat of an all-out war between Sudan and South Sudan is mounting amid intensifying fighting in the disputed border region, putting Christians in both nations in great danger.
Barnabas Fund, based in the UK says that Fierce clashes in the oil-rich territory over the last three weeks have been described as the worst fighting since South Sudan gained independence in July 2011.

The UN Security Council last week expressed its “deep and growing alarm” over the “escalating conflict”, and said that the situation threatened to return the countries to full-scale war. Sudan, which has been indiscriminately dropping bombs in the border regions and the South for almost a year, said that if Southern troops do not comply with a UN order to withdraw from the Heglig oilfields, Khartoum “will chase them out” and “hit deep inside South Sudan”.

“The tensions threaten a return to the deadly civil war that devastated the South and left more than two million people, mainly Southern Christians, dead,” said a Barnabas Fund spokesperson.

“The independence of South Sudan was meant to herald a new dawn of peace, but a number of serious issues between the two countries remain unresolved, including disputed border territory, oil revenue and citizenship rights.”

The spokesperson went on to say that the hostility between the two nations has left people of Southern origin, who are mainly Christian and mainly African, in the overwhelmingly Muslim and Arab Republic of Sudan in a state of limbo and increasing danger. They were stripped of their citizenship of Sudan after the South voted to secede in January 2011 and given until 8 April to sort out their papers. That deadline has now passed, and, treated as foreigners in Sudan, they have been denied work permits, while South Sudan has not yet started issuing identity documents. Thus they have been left without an official nationality.

A deal that would have given citizens of both countries key rights – to live, work and own property – in the other state has stalled, and there is little hope of further progress; a planned summit between the two presidents at the beginning of April was called off because of the violence in the border region.

A mother and child trying to shelter from the possible upcoming all-out war
“Thousands of people are consequently living rough, hundreds of them on wasteland around Khartoum, having had to give up their homes; many do not have the money and resources to transport their families and possessions to South Sudan. Around three-quarters of them are Christians,” said the Barnabas Fund spokesperson.

One community leader said: “We’ve been out of our homes for three months. We’re going to South Sudan, but we need the help of the two governments to return to our country. The people here are very tired. The men have no work, no food; that is our situation(Source).”

Persecuted Beijing Church Announces More Detentions

This letter to (or from) a Church in China is very encouraging.

04/10/2012 China (ChinaAid) - Dear brothers and sisters:
Peace in the Lord! On this past Sunday, we held the fifteenth outdoor worship service of this year. It was a sunny day, and believers continued to worship our Lord Jesus Christ who has resurrected with faith and hope.

As far as we know, on Sunday morning, at least twenty believers were taken away from locations near the platform for attending the outdoor service. Five believers were released on the way, and the other fifteen believers were sent to five local police stations. Till 20:00 pm on Sunday, thirteen believers were released home. And the last two believers detained at Guangying Police Station were released around 21:00 pm.
Today is the first anniversary of the outdoor worship service which started on April 10 last year. This past Sunday was very special; it was both the Easter Sunday of 2012 and the first anniversary of the outdoor service. Looking back, we are amazed by God’s work among us in this past year, through which he manifests to us that he is the head of the church in this generation, and that he is the Lord of the universe.

God grants us sufficient grace when we confront difficulties; his power of resurrection enables us to stand firm and to experience peace in facing all kinds of battle and pressure, and to further witness the resurrection of Jesus Christ in all sorts of ways to make the world see God’s presence among us. For each of us, we have experienced trials that reveal who we are in this past year. But we experienced God’s glory in trials, experienced Christ’s victory in our weakness, produced character and hope in endurance, and experienced the joy from the Holy Spirit in faith.

Now we continue to plead to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, that he will continue to sustain his church with the power that raises Christ from the dead, to grant us strength, and to guide us as we are filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, so that we will continue this journey in unity. “To him who is seated on the high seat, and to the Lamb, may blessing and honor and glory and power be given for ever and ever.” (Revelation 5:13)

May peace and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the mercy and love of Father God, and the console and guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, be with each brother and sister of Shouwang Church and all the churches who remember Shouwang Church in prayers, from this time on and forevermore! Amen(Source).

Beijing Shouwang Church

This church will be in my prayers. I thank them for their boldness which is being empowered by the Spirit of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Bomb Injures Three in Christian Neighborhood in Northern Nigerian City

04/16/2012 Nigeria (Fox News)-Witnesses say three people were injured following a bomb attack in a north Nigeria city that was the scene of a massive assault by a radical Islamist sect in January. The attack happened Sunday night in a Christian neighborhood of Kano, the largest city in Nigeria's Muslim north.

The bomb apparently was hidden inside of a drinking can. A January attack by members of the Boko Haram sect saw gunmen throw similar explosives.

That January attack killed at least 185 people.

Boko Haram is waging an increasingly bloody fight against Nigeria's weak central government in its effort to enact strict Shariah law across the multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people and free its imprisoned members(Source).

Hindu Radicals Attack Christian Pastors During Easter As Police Stand Idly By

 I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will keep my brethren in Christ, his followers in this time of persecution as they celebrate the resurrection of the King of kings.

04/13/2012 India (AsiaNews)-India's Christian minority is living in a "climate of terror," this according to Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) who spoke about the violence visited upon some Christian communities over the Easter break.

In Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Hindu ultranationalist groups have attacked, beaten and made death threats against the pastors and members of three Pentecostal churches. Although each incident is distinct, they all have one thing in common, namely the "utter failure" of the police to act. For all intents and purpose, they are accomplices of Hindutva extremists.

The first incident occurred on 5 April in Mangalore (Karnataka) when a group of Hindus hurled stones at a congregation that had gathered for Maundy Thursday prayers at St Sebastian Church in the city's Bendore area. A 46-year-old woman, Claret Pinto, suffered head injuries and was rushed to Colaco Hospital. Police later filed a report against persons unknown.

On Easter Sunday in Chamrajnagar (Karnataka), police went to the home of Rev Rajesh, 27, a pastor in the Indian Pentecostal Church of God (IPC) who had just finished a prayer service. They asked him under what authority he conducted the service at his home. Then, they insulted and eventually ordered him to vacate his home.

Later that day, Rev Rajesh and five other pastors went to the local police station to file a complaint about the incident. As they were briefing the attending officer, about 100 activists from the Bajrang Dal stormed the station and attacked the clergymen and a parishioner. The latter, named Babu, was wounded to the head and needed 24 sutures. Police present at the scene stood idly by. Also on Easter Sunday, Hindu ultranationalists from the Rashtriya Sawayamsevak Sangh (RSS) broke into the home of Rev Ratnababu, a pastor with the Christu Asinadu Prathana Mandir Church.

As some gagged and bound his son Madhu, others attacked the clergyman, throwing chilli powder into his eyes to blind him. They then physically assaulted him and his wife. When some neighbours began coming to the house in response to her screams, the attackers fled. Madhu was rushed to hospital(Keep reading).

It’s Christian Blood For Oil In Newest Sudan Violence

04/07/2012 Sudan (WND)-Press and intelligence reports from the region say that South Sudan claims the Khartoum regime tried to build an illegal oil pipeline across Sudan’s border into South Sudan’s oil fields.
There have been reports that money and weapons also are pouring into both Sudan and the recently independent south, which have been in conflict for decades because of the Muslim government’s war on the mostly Christian and animist population in the south.

International human rights groups believe Sudan is trying to incite a renewed conflict. International Christian Concern’s Africa analyst Jonathan Racho said that Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir wants to fan the flames of war.

“The government of Sudan wants to stoke violence in the border regions with the south Sudan. Their ultimate goal is to retake oil producing regions from the hands of south Sudanese,” Racho said. A former CIA station chief who has asked not to be named confirmed that al-Bashir’s interest in the south is connected to the south’s natural resources.

“Basically, Bashir could care less about the South Sudan and its people, except for the oil in the border regions,” the former CIA officer said. The former station chief said that Bashir’s may be trying to recapture the oil fields.

“This is what he’s planning to retake I think. Without that oil South Sudan is really just another dirt-poor, poverty-stricken African hell-hole. Frankly I was surprised when [Bashir] accepted independence for the region, so that indicates he had some sort of plan then,” the former station chief said. The oil-rich border region between Sudan and the new Republic of South Sudan is becoming a battle zone, with reports of burning tanks and plumes of smoke dotting the landscape. High numbers of fatalities also have been reported, and the catalyst for the bloodshed has been identified as oil money.
...

“South Sudan has the dubious ‘support’ of the U.S. and a little more help from Israel. But they really need a couple of billion to build their own pipeline to get their oil out of the country across Ethiopia or Kenya,” the former station chief said. A second military analyst who has asked not to be named confirmed that Bashir’s regime is after the oil revenue and found a way to get it.

“Sudan was stealing about half of south Sudan’s oil exports for transit ‘fees’ to the port as it went through,” the military analyst said.

“South Sudan halted oil exports until a pipeline through Kenya is completed next year. This move leaves Sudan perilously short of money,” the analyst said.

The government of Sudan has not responded to WND’s request for an interview. WND reported last week that while Bashir may be after the oil, the Sudanese strongman has another goal in mind – ethnic cleansing.

Bashir says he wants to purify Sudan by driving out the country’s remaining Christians, and aid workers in the Nuba Mountains say that he has begun strategic demonstrations of air power to systematically drive people into the territory of the newly independent South Sudan.  Racho urges Americans act to put pressure on Sudan’s government.

“We urge the international community to step up its pressure on Sudan to stop its violent activities. We are extremely concerned by the escalation of violence on the border regions and the continuous bombing campaign by the government of Sudan,” Racho said.
Bashir’s trouble at home
Christian Solidarity International USA’s president John Eibner said that even though there’s trouble in the south, Bashir has plenty of problems in his own government and with trouble brewing in Khartoum, he is unlikely to want a war with the south.

“Bashir is more concerned about survival in Khartoum than about retaking the South or toppling the Christian government in Juba,” Eibner said.

“He faces strong rebel armies in Darfur and Kordofan. That’s in the North. He also faces a strong, well-established opposition in Khartoum,” Eibner said.

Eibner’s assessment is backed up by reports coming from the fighting in the border region. A Pakistani press report says that some of the border skirmish casualties bear the JEM insignia, the Justice and Equality Movement, a Darfur rebel force.

Eibner also believes that South Sudan is steadily working to turn the tide against Bashir’s regime.
“Various credible sources confirm that Juba is supporting the rebel armies in the North. Bashir’s mobilization for jihad is aimed at opponents in the North, rather than the South,” Eibner said.

“There is conflict in the South, and Khartoum probably does provide support. But most of it is inter-tribal and lacks a national political agenda,” Eibner said.

“There is no strong political opposition in Juba that stands any chance of overthrowing Salva Kiir and the SPLA, at least in the short-term,” Eibner said. Eibner added that a major reason for the south’s security is illustrated by the recent developments that allowed the formation of the new South Sudan.

“Khartoum failed to conquer the South during more than two decades of civil war. It is even less likely that Khartoum would be able to retake the South, now that the South has an internationally recognized government,” Eibner said.

“There’s also a very well financed regular army, thanks to the CPA which Bashir signed and largely respected. The SPLA has succeeded in pushing war out of the South into the North,” Eibner said. “That is where the main theater of war is.”
Then there’s the Lord’s Resistance Army
However, warfare in South Sudan comes from another source. The south is plagued by constant incursions from the extra-national guerrilla group, the Lord’s Resistance Army. Global Response Network Executive Director Tom Zurowski said that the LRA regularly makes raids into the south.

“The LRA has been working in South Sudan for years. They have come through our village many times and have abducted children and have even raped women,” Zurowski said(Keep Reading the article).

Easter Bombing Kills at Least 38 in Nigeria

The Lord Jesus Christ be with the loved ones of those who were killed. I pray that those who were killed in the bombing knew Jesus Christ in the pardon of their sins so they will be raised up to be with Him forever, just as He rose on this Easter sunday.

LAGOS, Nigeria –  A car bomb exploded along a busy roadway Sunday morning in a central Nigeria city, killing at least 38 people in the latest attack on a region beset by religious, ethnic and political violence, an official said.

The blast struck Kaduna, the capital of Kaduna state, leaving charred motorcycles and debris strewn across a major road in the city where many gather to eat at informal restaurants and buy black market gasoline. Nearby hotels had their windows blown out of by the force of the powerful explosion, which engulfed a group of motorcycle taximen.

At least 38 people were killed in the blast, said Abubakar Zakari Adamu, a spokesman for the Kaduna state Emergency Management Agency. Others suffered serious injuries and were receiving treatment at local hospitals, Adamu said.

The explosion badly damaged the nearby All Nations Christian Assembly Church as churchgoers worshipped at an Easter service, the possible target of the bomber. Witnesses said it appeared the explosive-laden car attempted to go into the compound of that church before it detonated.

"We were in the holy communion service and I was exhorting my people and all of a sudden, we heard a loud noise that shattered all our windows and doors, destroyed our fans and some of our equipment in the church," Pastor Joshua Raji said.

Another witness, Augustine Vincent, said he was riding a motorcycle just behind the car when it exploded.

"God saw our heart and saved us," he said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though suspicion immediately fell on a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram.

Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north, is waging an increasingly bloody fight with security agencies and the public. More than 380 people have been killed in violence blamed on the sect this year alone, according to an Associated Press count. The sect, employing suicide bombers and assault-rifle shootouts, has attacked both Christians and Muslims, as well as the United Nations' headquarters in Nigeria.

The sect has rejected efforts to begin indirect peace talks with Nigeria's government. Its demands include the introduction of strict Shariah law across the country, even in Christian areas, and the release of all imprisoned followers.

The blast also comes as the United Kingdom and the United States had warned its citizens living in the oil-rich nation that violence was likely over the Easter holida(Continue to read).

Gay Rights Group Files Human Rights Complaint Against Christian Company After Refusal of Service

04/02/2012 United States (Foxnews)-A Lexington, KY t-shirt company is under investigation by the city’s Human Rights Commission after they refused to print t-shirts for a local gay rights organization. The owner of “Hands On Originals,” a well-known t-shirt company in the region, declined to print the shirts for the city’s Gay and Lesbian Services Organization (GLSO) because it would conflict with their Christian convictions.

The privately owned company is now accused of violating Lexington’s Fairness Act – which protects people and organizations from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The attacks are out of line, said Jim Campbell, an attorney with Alliance Defense Fund, the organization representing “Hands On Originals.”

“No business owner should be forced to violate his conscience simply because someone demands it,” he said. “The Constitution absolutely supports the rights of business owners to decline a request to support a message that conflicts with their deeply held convictions.”

Raymond Sexton, the executive director of the Human Rights Commission told Fox News that “Hands On Originals” will be “required by law to participate in the investigation.” “We have subpoena power and have the backing of the law,” he said. “We are a law enforcement agency and people have to comply.”

Should the company be found guilty of discriminating against the homosexuals Sexton said they could be subjected to fines.

“Hands On Originals” has faced a barrage of attacks since the accusations were made public. More than 2,000 people have joined a boycott movement on Facebook. Another group is trying to buy the company’s mortgage so they can be evicted.

The Fayette County public school system placed a temporary hold on buying t-shirts from the company until the issue is resolved. The University of Kentucky is also reviewing its future business with the t-shirt maker.
Even Lexington’s openly gay mayor has condemned the privately-owned t-shirt company, telling the Lexington Herald-Leader “People don’t have patience for this sort of attitude today.”

“I’m against discrimination, period,” Gray said in a statement released to television station WKYT. “It’s bad for business and bad for the city. I support the Human Rights Commission in a full and thorough investigation.”

Christians Prosecuted For Reading Bible In Public

And the Western persecution of my brethren in Christ continues and it is taken  to a whole new level. I pray that when I face persecution, I glorify Christ with my response to it.

03/30/2012 United States (Charisma News) - Taking the concept of culture wars to new heights, two Christians were arrested in front of a California DMV for reading the Bible—and prosecuted.
Pastor Brett Coronado and Mark Mackey were charged with a misdemeanor. Mackey was reading the Bible aloud on Feb. 2, 2011, in front of a group waiting for the DMV to open for business.
...
When Mackey was arrested, police stated it was illegal to “preach to a captive audience.” The defendants were jailed, but later learned that no such penal code prohibits preaching to a “captive audience.”
The officer issued a citation for “impeding an open business” with threats or intimidation under Penal Code Section 602.1(b). However, the district attorney again changed the charges claiming trespass after the government realized the business was not actually open and, presumably, saw the video showing no threats or intimidation.

The trial judge declined to dismiss the case. Advocates [Advocates for Faith & Freedom, the defense) vows to appeal the decision because the trespass law authorities are relying on is unconstitutional. In fact, other federal courts that have reviewed the same statutory language used in the California Penal Code have been declared unconstitutional.

“This is an abuse of power on the part of the CHP,” said Robert Tyler, associate general counsel for Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “The arresting officer could find no appropriate penal/ code to use when arresting these men. The purpose of the arrests appears to have been to censor them.”

Advocates for Faith & Freedom has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of these three men for violation of their right to free speech and for unlawful arrest, but that case has been stayed pending the resolution of the state court prosecution(Source).