Koran-Burning Preacher Terry Jones Briefly Jailed In Michigan

April 23, 2011 2:01:48 AM

By Bernie Woodall

DEARBORN, Mich. (Reuters) - A militant Christian preacher was jailed briefly Friday after a Michigan court ruled that a protest he planned outside a mosque was likely to provoke violence and ordered him to stay away.

Terry Jones, whose burning of a Koran in March triggered deadly riots in Afghanistan, had planned a protest outside the largest mosque in the United States.

Jones was sent to jail after he refused to pay a $1 bond ordered by Judge Mark Somers, who also ordered him to stay away for three years from the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn.

Police said Jones and a supporter, Wayne Sapp, were later released from custody after the token $1 bond was paid.

A six-person jury in a Dearborn court decided earlier that the planned protest was "likely to breach the peace" in the Detroit suburb with a large Muslim American population.

Jones, 59, is the leader of a tiny, fringe fundamentalist church in Gainesville, Florida. He was an unknown until he courted publicity and controversy by burning the Koran as part of what he describes as a campaign against "radical Islam."

Jones had asked for a permit to stage a protest on Good Friday on public land across from the mosque. City officials said the mosque and four nearby churches were expected to be crowded with several thousand worshipers at that time.

Police denied Jones's request and asked him to protest instead in a "free speech zone" in front of one of the city buildings. Jones argued that violated his free speech rights.

The American Civil Liberties Union petitioned unsuccessfully for the case against Jones to be thrown out.

An ACLU spokeswoman said officials had violated free speech protections in the U.S. Constitution and given more publicity to a divisive fringe figure by trying to bar his protest.

"We vehemently disagree with Mr. Jones and his cohorts. However, this is a complete abuse of the court process," said ACLU spokeswoman Rana Elmir.

"I believe that Rev. Jones came to Dearborn for his 15 minutes of fame and the judge and prosecutors have now effectively given him hours of that."

Hundreds of people gathered in light rain outside a Dearborn library to protest against Jones. (Reporting by Bernie Woodall; editing by Anthony Boadle)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[Bueno Hombre]

04:39 PM on 06/03/2011

I support your right to do the things you are doing. I resent you presenting yourself as a follower of Christ. To do what you have done resulting in the killing of innocent individuals or doing what you proposed to do that might cause violence is not Christ-like. The Bible says if a community won't listen to you shake the dust from your sandels and move on to the next community. I think because the community won't listen to you, you are trying to find a way to get attention (just like any 5 year old child). Grow up, study your Bible, pray, and join the majority of Christians.

[drummer510]

05:43 AM on 05/30/2011

Terry Jones is a muderer, his actions were respondsible for twenty deaths and outrage through the Middle East. I wish some jazzed up prosecutor would go after Jones and confict him. Put him behind bars, which he so rightfully deserves.

[martingibsonusa]

09:04 PM on 05/10/2011

Since when is it against the law to burn a book? Big deal. I'm sure people who don't use Korans toss them in the garbage everyday with People magazines when they start cluttering up the coffee table. It's only paper and maybe a cloth binding. If they have a problem with tossing or burning material items they are simple backwards pagan idolaters. You can't burn spirit. The Bible says to throw the Bible away after you eat (read) it. A far superior concept imho.

[Shereen Sheik]

01:52 AM on 05/07/2011

Okay this guy has been talked about and written about enough, honestly. I would like to state as a muslim that this trial is hogwash and is a ploy to increase fear of "the muslims attacking". Wtf? did i just step into a john wayne movie? are the natives going to attack when the 'redskins' play? This is a completely unfounded trial that should have never even been considered to be faced by a jury. Marilyn Manson can burn a giant heap of bibles and the consequence of that is ruffling the feathers of obscure churches. This guy gets months of coverage, a trial that goes against the first amendment (making him an underdog, wow fancy that), creates this whole irrational fear of a great terrorist retribution, which if it didnt recieve the coverage it had, would have never reached the ears of the desperate nutjobs looking for an excuse to shed blood.

[marleysghost]

06:20 PM on 05/02/2011

This man was told in no uncertain terms that his actions could lead to other people being killed for his act of self-righteous religious bigotry. He went ahead knowing full well how seriously Muslims take this business - a bit too irrational for my tastes, but seriously. The results were that Americans in Afghanistan were killed by mobs acting on their anger. He is culpable, and excusing his actions because other people are not able to contain their anger does not exhonorate him of this attention-getting provocation or of the fact that he acted irresponsibly knowing full well his actions would put others in harms way. His brand of vengful Christianity I can well do without.

[iLdoRight]

02:25 AM on 04/30/2011

Has Mr. Terry Jones learned the ways of the "reviler" and ignored the instruction from God's Word as to how a servant of the Lord should maintain his ministerial disposition? A "reviler" being one who's words and actions are more like a "bully's", that are fashioned to aggravate rather than to persuade a person or persons to do right. The revilers tactics may at times seem to work better or quicker, however the words at 2 Timothy 2:24-26 which indicate, "The Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, be kind to all, with gentleness correcting those in opposition that God may grant them repentance and escape from the snare of the devil, as they have been held captive by him to do his will." It seem so important to Our Creator that his servants do His work this way that He indicated at 1 Corinthians 6:9,10 that "No "revilers" will have a place in God's Kingdom", so what do we hope for ?

[bokhattak]

01:03 PM on 04/26/2011

I'm not a person that hates. I'm a Muslim, an American and a father. I teach my son that hate is never productive... that it only leads to more hate, injury, despair.

Terry Jones is a sad, broken little man who feels the need to incite violence to feel important or validated. I disagree with his stance entirely. I do, however, agree with and stand behind his right to speak freely, be a bigot, make all the noise he wants and I fully support his right to his civil liberties granted by our Constitution.

This judge has made a severe miscalculation and given Terry Jones so much more media coverage than he ever needed to have.

[Prometheus456]

12:34 PM on 04/26/2011

Goodbye, freedom of speech.

[everything news]

10:22 AM on 04/25/2011

I notice that I did not complete my thought. I was saying that my neighbours who are from Pakistan are nicer than many other people. So the bottom line is they are not all terrorists.
These pople want to assimilate themselves to this country. They too fled from the opressors.
So it is unfair to lump them all together.

[everything news]

08:36 PM on 04/24/2011

In response to Jack A. McDaniel
This guy Jones had been warned by our goverment what the consequences would be if he went ahead with his plan, they told him that he might endanger our troops. So he didn't care about his countrymen who are over there fighting to stop such acctions against us.,and so 20 or so of our soldiers are now dead. So what was the point? He did not accomplish anything with his act.

[John Halderman]

12:59 AM on 04/25/2011

Selfishness . . .

[TYRANNASAURUS]

05:43 PM on 04/24/2011

I guess the FIRST AMENDMENT only applies RANDOMLY...... you can burn a bible in front of a church, a Torah in front of a synagogue, a copy of the constitution in front of the capitol building....but you can't burn a Koran in front of a Mosque..................so the MUSLIMS GET SPECIAL TREATMENT BECAUSE THEY'RE MORE SENSITIVE....is that it?

[emp122]

03:56 AM on 04/25/2011

Actions have consequences. The consequence of burning a Koran is the death of Americans and the endangerment of our troops. I'll bet he would not put his own loved ones in danger. His quarrel should be with the insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, not ALL MUSLIMS. He seems to be protesting a religion, which is irrational. If he wants to burn a Koran, let him do it in one of those places! The Muslims in Dearborn have done nothing to him.

[Gregor53]

11:55 AM on 04/26/2011

You hit the nail on the head.  Consequences are something most will never accept because it is their "right" to offend.  Terry Jones is not a preacher, it is a bigot.  He is typical of those that offer nothing constructive to the global conversations and is only in it for the publicity.  He and Phelps should duke it out so they could put us out of their misery.

[country preacher]

04:35 AM on 04/25/2011

It only applies to muslims now that we have give the country to them!! I now have no rights, I am an American

[everything news]

08:28 AM on 04/25/2011

What country have we given to themm? You have plenty of rights: to speak out in a rational way without causing someones death. Which is to be expected from a civilized country.

[MarcEdward]

04:45 PM on 04/24/2011

How about we give him a free trip to a remote, Taliban controlled village in Afghanistan, along with his Quran, lighter fluid and matches?
Let him show just how brave he is.

[Jan Allen McDaniel]

06:00 PM on 04/24/2011

Your contemptible comment proceeds from a bankrupt sense of right and wrong. Your anticipatory glee at the murderous traits of the Taliban is disgusting.

Looking to someone else to do your dirty work is not very courageous. Take him on yourself, scooter.

[Anonisan]

10:50 PM on 04/24/2011

F&F , thank you

[likeyesterday]

01:43 PM on 05/06/2011

Brilliant idea!

[Steve Rockett]

03:15 PM on 04/24/2011

In California, when a person displays unusual behavior that could result in harm to himself or to others, they are placed on a 72 hour hold for further Psychiatric examination. Since this guy engaged in speech and behavior that resulted in the deaths of innocent people, it would seem to me that he qualifies. If the Psychiatrist determines that the person remains a threat, then they can seek a court order to hold the person indefinitely. His partner might also meet the criteria. This is not a matter of free speech, rather it is a matter of public safety.

[KarasudaJay]

05:03 PM on 04/24/2011

I love the deliberate short-sightedness of this. If I threaten to kill people if the President gives his State of the Union Address, yet the President endangers people by doing so, should he be put into a psychiatric facility? I'm genuinely curious as to how far we should go in locking up people who express themselves despite threats.

[Steve Rockett]

09:06 PM on 04/24/2011

Oh, I think that the other side of the coin, that is the people who kill because he "insulted" them is way beyond the pale and that in a just world, they would be up on charges. The key to this is determining the sanity of a person who now knows that his actions will result in the deaths of innocents based on religious beliefs. The two are intertwined and equally horrific. I would ask you this: If he incited people to kill your family members is that freedom of speech?

[Jan Allen McDaniel]

05:38 PM on 04/24/2011

You are saying Jones is crazy to offend Muslims?

The Soviet Union followed that line of reasoning to its logical conclusion. They placed political dissent in the category of mental illness. They figured a Russian who didn't like communism must be crazy. Dissenters spent years in psychiatric wards.

[Steve Rockett]

09:00 PM on 04/24/2011

I am saying that he now knows that the consequences of his behavior are riots, mayhem, and death. He has earned some time with a Psychiatrist to determine if his sanity is imperiled legally. The mental wards are full of people who believe that they are God, or hear God, or are the messiah. What separates him from the others is his potential danger to self or others. Yes, this is a slippery slope and that is why clearer heads must prevail. Apparently you are saying that he has every right to incite people to kill others.

[betynthesun]

01:32 PM on 04/24/2011

Is this guy related to the Westboro Church guy??? Talk about "free speech"!!!!!!!!

[everything news]

08:58 AM on 04/24/2011

The headline here says Koran- Burning.
Is trowing the Koran into a fire considered "A free speech"?

[Card-Carrying American]

12:29 PM on 04/24/2011

Probably. The Supreme Court has long held that 1st amendment protections extend to a wide range of non-verbal expression of ideas. The latest was Texas v. Johnson in 1989.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_v._Johnson

-Card-Carrying American
http://cardcarryingamerican.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Card-Carrying-American/149565408390518

[UnderTheHedgeWeGo]

05:18 PM on 04/24/2011

It is.