Watertown, WI - Marcus Schroeder was one of four people arrested by Watertown police on Saturday for reading the Bible out loud in a public park.
Schroeder is part of a group called Warriors for Christ, who attended a public event at a city park over the weekend. They were standing on a sidewalk next to an area that was being used for a "Pride in the Park" event, where a group of drag queens performing- also in public- with children present. The children were reportedly given dollar bills to hand to the performers.
In the video shown of the arrest, Schroeder can be seen and heard reading from the Bible into a microphone, which was connected to a speaker.
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” the teen can be heard saying as an officer approached him from the rear and appeared to pat him on the arm. Schroeder continued reading.
A sergeant then approached the young man from the front and appeared to attempt to grab the microphone from his hand without a word.
Many others can be heard asking the senior officer what was going on, at which point the officer powered off the speaker. Another officer explained to the group that they were not allowed to use amplified sound.
The officers then escorted Schroeder away from the area.
The city reportedly has an ordinance that references an "amplified music permit," which is unclear regarding the use of said permit. According to WSAU, the ordinance "does not specifically mention that a permit is needed to speak on a public sidewalk saying, ‘No public address systems or sound amplification devices shall be used in any public park or public recreation area’ without a permit.”
Video of the event has gone viral and social media commenters have criticized the officer for the quick arrest of the teen, who was later released and issued a warning.
Three other members of Warriors for Christ were detained earlier in the day for what witnesses called praying for people in the Pride at the Park event.
Jason Storms, who took the video, can be heard speaking after Schroeder’s arrest during the recording. On his church’s Facebook page, Storms said, "A bunch of people from our church joined with other Christians (about 100 of us in all) to minister to those attending a drag queen show for children in Watertown, Wisconsin. Rather than arrest those sexualizing children - the police arrested four Christians exercising their First Amendment rights including my daughter and one of my sons-in-law."
Now, Schroeder is speaking up about what happened.
"I was reading a passage from the Bible about love, and I was arrested. No reason, not giving any warning, not told anything about my amplification needing to be turning down. I was arrested and taken into custody simply for reading the Bible on the sidewalk," he told a group of people in a video released on Rumble.
"I completely understand the other side," Schroeder continued. "I want to understand the other side. But drag queens twerking on kids… is unacceptable, and that's something that we have to notice as a culture. We can have our disagreements, but there comes a time when we have to understand that we are all going to stand before God one day, and we're going to have to give an account for what we have done with the children in our society, the innocent minds and the children who deserve to be protected."
Schroeder is part of a group called Warriors for Christ, who attended a public event at a city park over the weekend. They were standing on a sidewalk next to an area that was being used for a "Pride in the Park" event, where a group of drag queens performing- also in public- with children present. The children were reportedly given dollar bills to hand to the performers.
In the video shown of the arrest, Schroeder can be seen and heard reading from the Bible into a microphone, which was connected to a speaker.
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” the teen can be heard saying as an officer approached him from the rear and appeared to pat him on the arm. Schroeder continued reading.
A sergeant then approached the young man from the front and appeared to attempt to grab the microphone from his hand without a word.
Many others can be heard asking the senior officer what was going on, at which point the officer powered off the speaker. Another officer explained to the group that they were not allowed to use amplified sound.
The officers then escorted Schroeder away from the area.
The city reportedly has an ordinance that references an "amplified music permit," which is unclear regarding the use of said permit. According to WSAU, the ordinance "does not specifically mention that a permit is needed to speak on a public sidewalk saying, ‘No public address systems or sound amplification devices shall be used in any public park or public recreation area’ without a permit.”
Video of the event has gone viral and social media commenters have criticized the officer for the quick arrest of the teen, who was later released and issued a warning.
Three other members of Warriors for Christ were detained earlier in the day for what witnesses called praying for people in the Pride at the Park event.
Jason Storms, who took the video, can be heard speaking after Schroeder’s arrest during the recording. On his church’s Facebook page, Storms said, "A bunch of people from our church joined with other Christians (about 100 of us in all) to minister to those attending a drag queen show for children in Watertown, Wisconsin. Rather than arrest those sexualizing children - the police arrested four Christians exercising their First Amendment rights including my daughter and one of my sons-in-law."
Now, Schroeder is speaking up about what happened.
"I was reading a passage from the Bible about love, and I was arrested. No reason, not giving any warning, not told anything about my amplification needing to be turning down. I was arrested and taken into custody simply for reading the Bible on the sidewalk," he told a group of people in a video released on Rumble.
"I completely understand the other side," Schroeder continued. "I want to understand the other side. But drag queens twerking on kids… is unacceptable, and that's something that we have to notice as a culture. We can have our disagreements, but there comes a time when we have to understand that we are all going to stand before God one day, and we're going to have to give an account for what we have done with the children in our society, the innocent minds and the children who deserve to be protected."
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