Four men were cleared by a jury on charges of criminal trespass and creating a disturbance after they heckled Pastor Joel Osteen at his Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas in June last year.
The men, who are members of a small church in the East Texas town of Wells, were arrested on June 28, 2015 after they repeatedly shouted at Osteen during Sunday service at his church, the largest Protestant congregation in the U.S.
"God is on our side," said Kevin Fessler, one of the accused, after the verdict, the Houston Chronicle reports. "We praise God."
Criminal charges of trespassing and creating disturbance were filed against Fessler, Mark DeRouville, Matthew Martinez and Randall Valdez.
Two other men, Jacob Gardner and Richard Trudeau have yet to be tried.
During the June 28, 2015 Sunday service, the men admitted that they stood up and shouted "false prophet!" at Osteen.
During the court hearing Wednesday, Osteen said the men would not have left the church if they had not been taken out by security personnel.
"I think they were passionate about what they believe. And they weren't going anywhere," he said.
Defence attorneys Brad Loper and Jon Stephenson told the jury that the men were simply trying to convey their message and they left the church when asked to leave.
"Let's not criminalise speech," Loper said in his closing argument.
During his testimony, Osteen said, "Not everyone agrees with us. Not everyone interprets the scriptures the same way."
Lawyers for the men were able to persuade County Court-at-Law Judge Bill Harmon to dismiss the trespassing charge against the three men while prosecutors dropped the charges against the fourth man.
The four are now facing only a misdemeanor charge for disturbing a public meeting. If they are found guilty, they can be jailed to a maximum of six months.
People from Wells hoped that the men will be convicted.
"I wanted to see them in handcuffs," said Patty Grove, who opposes the teachings of the Church of Wells. "I wanted to see them wearing orange."
