Dr. Mike Hargadon Applauds Dropping of All Charges Against Peaceful Demonstrators

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

On August 1, 2008, 18 peaceful demonstrators, including 10 teenagers, were arrested by Maryland State Troopers along Route 24 in Bel Air.  Jack Ames, director of Defend Life, reported that all of the demonstrators were arrested without warning, they were not read their rights, and they were held overnight without access to a lawyer.  Additionally, he said that most of those arrested were not allowed a single phone call while incarcerated.  Last week authorities acknowledged their overreach by dropping all charges against the demonstrators, confirming their innocence.

Dr. Mike Hargadon, candidate for Congress in Disctrict 7, applauded the dropping of all charges, but expressed outrage that arrests had even taken place.  “The demonstrators were simply standing on the side of the road [Route 24], holding pictures and banners.  They did not interfere with traffic and did not approach any vehicles.  They simply wanted to put their message out there in a peaceful way, which is exactly what they did.  Last I checked, the First Amendment gives us the right to express ourselves in this way.”

The demonstrators were part of the “Face the Truth” tour, a group comprised of pro-life activists who take their message to the streets.  Many of the demonstrators pray along the roadside, while others hold pictures of unborn babies along with more graphic pictures of aborted babies.  Dr. Hargadon acknowledged that the pictures might make some passing motorists uncomfortable, but that doesn’t make it illegal.

“This group opposes abortion, and so they show pictures of abortions to help their cause.  It’s no different from anti-war activists using pictures of the horrors of war to help their cause.  The message itself is irrelevant, because the First Amendment applies in all cases.  I’m thankful that, in the end, the authorities got it right and dropped the charges.”  But Dr. Hargadon cautioned that we must remain vigilant, especially when considering this incident in light of other recent violations of civil liberties.  “If you believe our civil liberties are getting trampled on, then you better stand up and take notice.  You may be pro-choice, but the arrests of these pro-life activists should concern you.  You may be in favor of the War in Iraq, but the fact that Maryland Police conducted illegal surveillance on anti-war groups should frighten you.  We need to come together and live up to the saying, ‘I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’”

Dr. Hargadon also chastised the Baltimore Sun for their “yellow journalism” in reporting the story.  “By simply quoting the police spokesperson, the reporter only got one side of the story – the wrong side, as it turns out.  It is incumbent on the media to investigate what happened and not just regurgitate the story they get from the authorities.  Since the charges have been dropped, it is clear that the police spokesperson was inaccurate in his statements, which means that the Sun’s reporting of the story was almost entirely untrue.  Despite outreach from the demonstration organizers to the Sun’s editors, the story has yet to be retracted or corrected, and that is a shame.  Rather than report the compelling story that police overstepped their authority, the Sun has decided to leave their inaccurate story as the final word, implying that the demonstrators, rather than the police, were the bad guys in this episode.”