Reading the Bible aloud in a public space in front of people is not a crime.
This was made clear by a U.S. federal court, which ruled in favour of a Christian man who was arrested for reading the Bible in front of a government office in California, CBN News reported.
Mark Mackey was arrested in February 2011 by California Highway Patrol Officer Darren Meyer while he was reading the Bible aloud in front of a group of people outside the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office in the city of Hemet.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals thus overturned a lower court ruling that granted summary judgment in favour of Meyer, according to Christian News.
Brett Coronado, the assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel in Hemet, said Mackey's activity was part of the church's evangelism ministry, which includes Bible reading in public and distribution of gospel tracts to passersby.
In its ruling, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed with Meyer's account of the incident, noting that the officer's "version of events is completely belied by video and audio footage which does not reveal any confrontation whatsoever and merely shows Mackey reading the Bible aloud, somewhat apart from people standing in line."
Mackey welcomed the court ruling, saying, "Justice still prevails. I am excited that our country is going in the right direction."
His lawyer, Robert Tyler, said the decision "renews my hope in the justice system."
"An innocent man exercising his religious liberty and free speech was criminally prosecuted based on erroneous claims put forth by a false and deceitful police report," he said.
Meyer earlier testified that he arrested Mackey for obstructing and intimidating a "captive audience" of people waiting to transact business with the DMV. The officer claimed that Mackey was "yelling at the people waiting in line" and that there was "obvious verbal confrontation between the group of men and the people standing in line."
Following his arrest, Mackey was criminally prosecuted in California state court.
He then filed a case against Meyer, alleging unlawful arrest in violation of the 4th Amendment, as well as false arrest under state law.
