Four men in North Carolina were arrested over the weekend for protesting outside an abortion clinic after police deemed them to be in violation of the state’s stay-at-home order in response to the coronavirus.
Justin Reeder, Jason Oesterreich, Carl Ubinas, and Isaiah Burner were all arrested Saturday and charged with violating the stay-at-home order after congregating outside the A Woman’s Choice abortion clinic in Greensboro, according to Triad City Beat.
Reeder is the founder of Love Life USA, a national anti-abortion group.
A video of a confrontation between the men and local police shows officers telling the men, who were standing in the parking lot in front of the clinic praying, that they were in violation of the order and needed to leave.
“I’m gonna tell you now: You need to return to your vehicles,” one officer says. “You’ve got a choice right now to make, alright? You can choose to comply with what I’m telling you, or you’re going to be charged. … Right now, I am giving you a command to leave this location.”
The men did not comply and were arrested, police said.
North Carolina’s stay-at-home order directs citizens to “stay at home except to visit essential businesses, to exercise outdoors or to help a family member.” Specifically, the order bans “gatherings of more than 10 people and directs everyone to physically stay at least six feet apart from others.”
Violation of the order can result in a Class II misdemeanor, which in North Carolina carries a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The North Carolina Values Coalition, a statewide anti-abortion group, condemned the arrests.
“The North Carolina Values condemns the actions of Greensboro police for arresting Christians who peacefully and legally pray and exercise their religious rights on the sidewalks,” the organization said in a statement. “Not even in communist China would police arrest three men for walking and praying on the street. Even during a fight against a virus, Americans have constitutional rights to pray and exercise religious freedoms.”
