A controversial Florida pastor was jailed on Friday after a Michigan court determined that his planned demonstration outside a mosque was likely to provoke violence and he refused to pay a $1 bond.
Terry Jones, 59, was sent to the county jail in Detroit after he declined to meet the terms of a ruling by District Judge Mark Somers in an apparent protest.
Somers had ordered Jones and a supporter, Wayne Sapp, to each pay $1 under the terms of an order that would have also barred them from the Islamic Center of America mosque and nearby public property for three years.
A six-person jury heard over five hours of testimony and argument before concluding that the planned protest by Jones was “likely to breech the peace.”
Jones, who represented himself and wore a faded leather jacket and jeans, sat stone-faced and said little after the jury read out its verdict. When Somers asked if he was prepared to meet the terms of the $1 bond, Jones said, “No.”
“I strongly voice my disagreement with the ruling,” said Sapp, 42, when asked by Somers if he had any comment on the ruling. “The peace bond is to prohibit free speech.” Sapp was also ordered to jail.
Jones had asked for a permit to protest outside the Islamic Center of America on Good Friday, a time when both the mosque and four nearby churches were expected to be crowded with worshipers.
Dearborn police had denied Jones’s request and asked him to protest instead in a “free speech zone” in front of one of the city buildings. But Jones, who represented himself in court on Friday, argued that violated his free speech rights.