By John Vibes on December 3, 2014
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/judge-suspends-fort-lauderdales-ban-feeding-homeless-global-backlash/#dTBYv4ohtPJX0lKu.99
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/judge-suspends-fort-lauderdales-ban-feeding-homeless-global-backlash/#dTBYv4ohtPJX0lKu.99
Fort Lauderdale, Florida – As we reported last month, the city of Fort Lauderdale has been arresting homeless advocates for the crime of providing free food to people who need it.
90-year-old Arnold Abbott has been at the center of the controversy since the beginning, because he has refused to comply with a newly imposed local ordinance against feeding the homeless.
Abbot has been a charity worker for over 20 years and has continued to feed the homeless despite multiple arrests and fines. In some cases, Abbot was back on the streets the very next day after getting arrested, only to be shut down minutes later by police.
Videos of the arrests went viral, and quickly caused outrage all over the world. Local politicians have been fighting to justify their actions, but have only made themselves look worse with their callous comments to the media.
This week, as a result of that backlash, Broward Circuit Judge Thomas Lynch suspended the ordinance.
“We’re elated the judge has entered the stay,” John David, Abbott’s attorney told reporters after the ruling.
The judge was responding to a legal challenge filed by Abbot after his arrest. However, this does not mean that the law has been abolished entirely, Lynch told the Associated Press that he wants the dispute resolved through legal mediation or trial by the end of the year. The judge did not give any indication as to which way the ruling would go.
As the case is being mediated, the suspension will prevent police from arresting people for feeding the homeless, but this temporary reprieve will last just 30 days unless the court rules in favor of Abbot.
Now it seems that even the politicians who put the ordinance into effect are backpedaling on the issue.
“We’ve been trying to find some amicable resolution. We hope that Mr. Abbott meets us half way. We’ve asked him to meet us half way in the past. We would prefer to enforce our municipal ordinances, but whether the judge was trying to take a little steam off the kettle, whether the judge was trying to give a little period of quiet during the holidays, I’m not sure what was the logic behind his decision,” Mayor Jack Seiler said in a statement.
This fight is nothing new, Abbot has been fighting against the city for years, just so he can provide this free service to his community. In 1999, Abbot was banned from feeding the homeless and successfully sued the city after a lengthy legal battle.
John Vibes is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war. In addition to his writing and activist work he is also the owner of a successful music promotion company. In 2013, he became one of the organizers of the Free Your Mind Conference, which features top caliber speakers and whistle-blowers from all over the world. You can contact him and stay connected to his work at his Facebook page. You can find his 65 chapter Book entitled “Alchemy of the Timeless Renaissance” at bookpatch.com.
Man Arrested For Feeding Homeless Gets Arrested THIRD TIME This Month
The story about 90-year-old Arnold Abbott’s arrest for feeding the homeless in Fort Lauderdale, Florida went viral earlier this month. Then, on Tuesday – just two days after his first arrest – Abbott was arrested again. Just last Wednesday, he found himself in cuffs a third time, and the local mayor is not backing down from this totalitarian law.
The city’s ban on “public food sharing” went into effect October 22nd. Abbott, the founder of Love Thy Neighbor Foundation, a local nonprofit organization that feeds the homeless, says that he never thought for a minute about complying with the dictates of the mayor.
The first confrontation occurred on November 2nd when an officer literally told the humanitarian hero to “’Drop that plate immediately.’ As though it were a weapon,” Abbott recalled.
Abbott has now decided to file a motion against the city to uphold a 1999 ruling that permits his organization’s feeding of the homeless.
In the meantime, Abbott says he will keep showing up to feed the homeless at 5:30 every Wednesday, regardless of how many times police arrest him.
“I appreciate all of your concern for my safety,” Abbott said to his supporters, “but I have faced the Klu Klux Klan on many occasions, and I have no fear of spending the night in a Fort Lauderdale jail,” Abbott wrote on Facebook. “I thank you all, and I pray that we all stay strong. We shall prevail!”
If you agree that the police and local government have gone way too far, and that Mayor Seiler has overstepped his bounds and is regulating private, protected activity, the please take a minute share this article with your friends and family, and encourage them to contact the Mayor and let him know that you support Abbott and that private donations should not be punished!
To contact Mayor Seiler, please call (954) 828-5003 or send an e-mail to jack.seiler@fortlauderdale.gov.
Admin note: We urge you make your voice heard in this matter.
Arresting and hand cuffing a 90 year old man for feeding the homeless is outrageous.
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