Matthew Meinecke, a Seattle street preacher, says he was confronted and arrested by 10 city police officers for reading his Bible in a park near a Seattle pride event. He also says that he forgives them.
In a video posted to Twitter, one of the officers said, “So at this point we can no longer stand by. The risk that you pose for public safety by remaining here can be mitigated if you leave; it’s your last chance.”
“I don’t want to leave because I’m not in danger,” Meinecke said.
The officer responded by saying, “All right …” and motioning other officers to handcuff Meinecke.
In a video dated June 27, the same day Meinecke’s arrest was posted, completely nude bicyclists can be seen riding in a parade only feet from where children with rainbow crowns watched. In the video by @vaccinatedfox, the march also featured Boy Scouts with rainbow flags.
Two days earlier, Meinecke posted videos of people destroying his Bibles by ripping the pages out one by one, kicking them around like soccer balls, and even throwing one in the toilet of a portable restroom.
“This is a hate crime,” Meinecke said in one of the videos. “Do you guys realize you’re committing a hate crime right now?”
After his arrest, Meinecke spoke to journalist Jonathan Choe in a video. “I was at the Seattle Center reading the Bible.” He continued to describe the scene, “Not aggressively preaching, not stirring people up, not anything. People throwing things. People vandalizing our property.”
In other videos, Meinecke is shown reading the Bible confidently before his arrest while a trans flag is held up to block him. Other pride event attendees bark and howl over him as he reads the Bible at a normal volume.
The Seattle street preacher was arrested, fingerprinted and given a notice that they “reserve the right” to prosecute him.
He had this to ask about the arrest: “Why are they so offended by words? I just believe in using the Word of God. … If those words are so offensive, then … the problem is in you.”
He continued, “Meanwhile, we got a bunch of naked people walking around over here, not even 200 feet away. Naked grown men around little children.”
Meinecke has been dragged through streets, kicked, punched and spit on by BLM, Antifa and pride event attendees.
When asked about his response to the police who arrested him, he says, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.” He continues, “I love the police. I have no problem with the police at all.”
Rob Vischer is a freelance writer for Charisma Media.
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