Anti-Muslim pastor Terry Jones and his associate pastor Marvin Sapp, Jr were arrested by Polk County Sheriff’s deputies and charged with unlawful conveyance of fuel on Wednesday, the twelfth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The controversial pastors were taken into custody after police found the pickup they were driving, transporting nearly three thousand copies of kerosene soaked Korans, some being towed behind in a large barbecue style grill. The pair planned to ignite the Korans at a park in Mulberry, Florida. Each of the 2998 copies of the Koran was to symbolize one of the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. In addition, Jones was also charged with one misdemeanor count of unlawfully carrying an open firearm. His partner in crime, Marvin Sapp, Jr., was additionally cited for having no valid registration for the trailer.
Their planned hate filled Koran burning was halted by the unsafe way in which the men were transporting an excessive amount of flammable fuel. Jones has burned copies of the Koran in the past, but this time his plan fell afoul of the law. Sapp’s wife decried the arrests saying that they represented ”a very dangerous sign to us as Americans, as citizens, and to the First Amendment.” However, the just as the First Amendment does not guarantee the right to yell “fire” in a crowded theater, it also apparently does not guarantee the right to haul enough kerosene soaked Korans to burn down a theater either. The arrest was not a violation of free speech but rather done out of necessity for public safety as the kerosene soaked Korans undoubtedly posed a fire hazard while they were being transported.
Anti-Islamic bigots hoping for a Koran burning party on the twelfth anniversary of the 9-11 attacks must have been sorely disappointed when their planned evening activities failed to materialize. Hopefully as they contemplate why the event was cancelled, they may also begin to recognize that hate mongers like Terry Jones are a greater threat to their safety in Florida than the Islamic text they were so intent on burning. Thankfully, Terry Jones’ festival of hate was thwarted by alert law enforcement officials who took him and his sidekick into custody. Now they must answer to the courts, for their malicious and dangerous stunt that went awry.
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Keith Brekhus is a progressive American who currently resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He is co-host for the Liberal Fix radio show. He holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri. In 2002, he ran for Congress as a Green Party candidate in the state of Missouri. In 2014, he worked as a field organizer for Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick’s successful re-election bid in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. He can be followed on Twitter @keithbrekhus or on Facebook.
