War On Religion Counter Attack: Ministry kicked off public property for doing so earlier this year, likely to sue

11.26.13

DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. —A Harrisburg religious organization is demanding that the county let it serve the homeless after the ministry was kicked off public property for doing so earlier this year.

The attorneys for the religious ministry sent the county a demand letter last week, requesting the county to immediately revoke a ban prohibiting it from carrying out its religious activities. If not, the attorneys say it will sue.

Isaiah 61 Ministries is giving the county 30 days to respond with a plan to let them continue serving those in need.

The county asked ministry volunteers to leave the public property in September. It’s an area the ministry served for five years, without incident, according to attorney Jeremy Dys, until now.

“To arrest them, fine them, to threaten or otherwise just kick them off the property is unacceptable and unconstitutional,” said Dys.

In the demand letter, Dys says the county violated the First Amendment and Pennsylvania’s Religious Freedom Protection Act when the group was threatened with arrest.

But the county’s deputy chief clerk, Scott Burford, the man who asked the group to leave, says this wasn’t the county’s intention.

“Our attempt was to be least restrictive, to try to manage the situation so we could curb harassment of staff and vandalism of public property,” said Burford.

In fact, Burford says he informed members of the group prior to this incident that the county was looking to post no-trespassing signs at the locations because of the problems the service was causing.

Those signs, however, have not yet been posted.

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