A conservative Catholic media outlet to hold a rally at an assembly of U. S. bishops in Baltimore says city officials canceled the occasion because they disapprove of his devout message. rioters who stormed the U. S. Capitol in January.
Organizers of the event are calling for a federal ruling on whether the city is trampling on their First Amendment rights. U. S. District Judge Ellen Hollander on Thursday heard testimony from survivors of clergy abuse who wish to speak at the “prayer meeting” that St. Hollander’s prayer meeting. Michael’s Media planned to perform at a city-owned waterfront pavilion on Nov. 16.
An announcement of the occasion promotes speeches through Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, and far-right agitator Milo Yiannopoulos, who testified at Thursday’s hearing. inspire other survivors of abuse to “confront facilitators and abusers. “
The Associated Press doesn’t regularly call other people who suffer sexual abuse, however, Yiannopoulos agreed to be known and said he had written about what had happened in the past.
The city said Yiannopoulos’ speeches attracted counter-protesters and resulted in violence and damage to assets. He also said Bannon “regularly calls for violence that opposes government officials,” noting that Twitter banned his account last year after calling for the beheading of Dr. Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Yiannopoulos said he has followed a softer, less caustic tone in his speeches in recent years and doubts counter-protesters will come forward on an occasion like the one St. Michael organized.
“The threat is close to 0 for me,” said Yiannopoulos, now a paid columnist for St. Michael’s Media. ” No one comes to protest against me in those days, which is a wonderful relief. “
Michigan-based St. Michael’s Media, also known as Church Militant, sued the city, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and city attorney James Shea on Sept. 13 and criticizes Church leaders.
In a court case, the city said it asked the contractor who manages the pavilion to cancel the occasion “because of a valid concern that it will incite violence in downtown Baltimore. “
“And for a city like Baltimore, with an already extended police branch with a well-documented police shortage, the resolution to cancel an occasion with a speaker inviting more protesters, counterprotesters, expenses and possible violence is more than reasonable. ” wrote the city’s lawyers, referring to Yiannopolous.
Marc Randazza, a lawyer for St. Michael’s, said Yiannopoulos is in a position to resign if the city allows the rally to take place. The city rejected that offer, Randazza told the judge.
“I don’t need the sound of my own voice any more than I need the success and nonviolent execution of the rally,” Yiannopoulos said.
However, Yiannopoulos signed a brief saying he intended to sue the city for allegedly taking away his free speech rights if he agreed not to speak.
“I didn’t know the warning,” the ruling said.
In 2017, a confidant of Pope Francis in particular spoke about ChurchMilitant. com in an article condemning the way some American evangelicals and Catholics combine faith and politics. The Rev. Antonio Spadaro’s article in a Vatican-approved magazine said the media presented the 2016 presidential election as “spiritual warfare” and Trump’s for the presidency as “a divine election. “
The pavilion is across the street where the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is scheduled to hold its national assembly Nov. 15-18.
St. Michael’s said it intentionally chose the date and location of its collection to coincide with the assembly of bishops, and that it held a legal nonviolent rally across the city at the same site as the national assembly of bishops in 2018.
The organization is calling for a ruling that the cancellation of their meeting violates their constitutional rights to freedom of expression, devout expression and relaxed assembly. He also needs Hollander to order the pavilion manager to “honor his contractual relationship” with St. Michael’s.
St. Michael’s lawsuit said its founder and CEO, Michael Voris, spoke with Shea about the cancellation in August. The city’s attorney told Voris that his workplace had noticed data that St. Michael’s had “ties” to Jan. 6 on Capitol Hill. according to demand.
“Mr. Voris promptly told Shea that this was categorically false and asked for the source of those reports. She replied that he had not discovered any of those reports, but that unspecified ‘people’ had told her that those reports were widely disseminated. had on the Internet,” the lawsuit says.
In its court file, the city describes Church Militant as “an active propagandist” over baseless allegations that the 2020 presidential election robbed Trump. Church Militant “promoted and exalted” the rioters who stormed the Capitol, and Voris glorified the insurgents in a broadcast. on the night of Jan. 6, city prosecutors wrote.
St. Michael’s says the city also sought to cancel the rally because its leaders prefer the bishops’ adherence to “modern, dominant Catholic doctrine. “The city said the group’s devout ideals had nothing to do with cancellation.