Damon Atkins was handcuffed and arrested for repeating a section of a Bible passage after standing on a sidewalk for less than sixty seconds.
On Saturday morning, scores of individuals gathered outside Reading City Hall on Washington Street to take part in the city’s first-ever “Pride March and Rally,” which Mayor Eddie Moran sponsored. Atkins appeared at a public sidewalk across the street from City Hall around 10:05 a.m.
He was in handcuffs in less than a minute.
Matthew Wear of Reading, Pennsylvania, captured the entire encounter on video and informed The Lancaster Patriot that he had been preaching before Atkins’ arrival and was instructed to cease by the same police officer, who later apprehended Atkins.
Wear stated that he preached for around twelve minutes before beginning to record the event from across the street.
Wear uploaded the video to YouTube, where it had nearly 2,000 views in just two days.
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELWear narrates the video, stating how he preached until “a cop got in my face, laid hands on me, and threatened to arrest me if I didn’t stop.”
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“They got drag queens, they got children here,” Wear says in the video. “They’re about to do a flag-raising ceremony in this Satan cesspit.”
Atkins may be seen in the distance about a minute into the video, heading toward the event.
“It looks like some more men just showed up to support us,” Wear adds at 1:48. “This cop’s going to give them a hard time.”
Police Sergeant Bradley T. McClure approaches Atkins in the video, and the two interact for around 25 seconds.
Atkins is heard saying, “This is public property.”
McClure can be heard saying things like “let them have their event” and then he said, “Respect them.”
In the video, Atkins tells McClure that he respects the audience and says, “You know who’s cheering for us – the people that are in hell.”
Later, Atkins informed The Lancaster Patriot that he was referring to the Gospel of Luke’s story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, in which a rich man in pain begs Father Abraham to send someone to warn his brothers about the place of torment.
Wear’s video then cuts to McClure walking away from Atkins. Atkins can then be heard repeating, “God is not the,” and McClure re-approaches him and handcuffs him.
Atkins told The Lancaster Patriot that he was going to quote a section of 1 Corinthians 14:33 – “God is not the author of confusion” – but that he had to stop because he was shackled by McClure.
According to McClure’s probable cause affidavit, “[Atkins] was carrying a sign with a slogan written on it that showed his opposition to the event.”
The affidavit says Atkins “resume yelling derogatory comments to the people at the event.” How in the United States is the word God a derogatory comment? This is no less than government tyranny.
In the video, Atkins is seen holding a banner that reads, “JESUS SAID GO AND SIN NO MORE.”
McClure also states in the affidavit that Atkins “began to yell to the people” at the pride celebration.
“I immediately approached him and told him that, while he was free to stand on that side of the street and hold his sign,” McClure noted in the affidavit, “he could not cross the street nor yell comments intended to disrupt the event.”
McClure went on to say that Atkins “said he understood.” However, there is no evidence on the film of Atkins agreeing to be silent, and Atkins told The Lancaster Patriot that he never agreed to McClure’s instructions.
The affidavit goes on to say that in less than a minute, Atkins “resumed yelling derogatory comments to the people at the event.”
The footage captures Atkins’ only remarks as “God is not the” just before McClure arrests him.
The Lancaster Patriot obtained a court record that said Atkins was charged with “Disorderly Conduct Engage in Fighting.”
According to a criminal complaint obtained by The Lancaster Patriot from the Reading Police Department, a violation of the Disorderly Conduct statute entails “the intent to cause substantial public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, he engages in fighting or threatening, or in violent or tumultuous behavior” and that Atkins “despite being warned by police just moments prior, yelled derogatory comments at an organization that was holding a permitted event.”
The crowd at the pride celebration can be heard praising Atkins’ arrest as he is detained in the footage.
Atkins consented to meet with The Lancaster Patriot to explain that he went to the event that day because Jesus Christ changed him and he wanted to share his experience with others.
“The main reason I was there was because of love,” he explained. “Because Jesus has taught me to love my neighbor as myself.”
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Earlier in the week, he attended another pride gathering and claimed that a man told him, “if I had a gun, I would shoot you in the head.”
According to Atkins, the message of repentance is perceived as nasty because it does not support the wicked behavior that the culture celebrates.
“What is love? Is that love that your pastor tells you that you can be a homosexual and enter the kingdom of God?” he said. “That’s not love.”
According to Atkins, he was characterized as making “derogatory” remarks but was only reading from the Bible.
“Now in this country, ‘God’ is a derogatory term,” Atkins explained to The Lancaster Patriot. “That makes me sick to my stomach.”
Atkins’ court date is set for June 16, and he hopes to be represented by Alliance Defending Freedom.
Atkins said he is discouraged by the Reading Pride celebrations and the police officer’s conduct, but he will continue to teach people about the evils of sin.
“It’s all going to be sorted out in the end,” Atkins assured.
