A constitutional crisis is unfolding in Charlotte, North Carolina after the police department arrested a group of pro-life demonstrators for violating the state’s “Stay at Home” order.
A small group representing Cities4Life were engaged in sidewalk counseling outside the Preferred Women’s Health Center of Charlotte. Video shows the group maintained proper social distancing requirements.
However, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department determined the gathering violated a state order banning “mass gatherings.”
In other words it’s permissible under the law for abortion doctors to kill unborn babies, but it’s not permissible for law-abiding pro-lifers to provide counseling.
Among the eight individuals arrested was Cities4Life board chairman David Benham, a nationally-known Christian leader and prominent North Carolina businessman. He was handcuffed and hauled off to jail.
“They arrested me,” Benham said during an interview on The Todd Starnes Radio Show. “We were doing everything within our rights under the law. We went above and beyond.”
Why would the police arrest a handful of law-abiding pro-lifers when the local parks were packed with people violating social distancing regulations?
“This is a constitutional crisis,” Benham said. “This is clear government overreach. This is viewpoint discrimination.”
Benham has a legitimate argument. If he had been standing in a local park he would not have been arrested. But he was standing outside an abortion clinic – and that was a problem for Democrat leaders in the area.
“They aren’t arresting people in the park that are gathering way more than ten people,” he said. “They are not arresting people outside your hipster store. They arrested me.”
Clearly, the government leaders in Charlotte see the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to crackdown on pro-lifers.
