Supreme Court revives suit from evangelical Christian challenging restrictions on demonstrations

WASHINGTON– The Supreme Court on Friday restarted the trial of an evangelical Christian banned from protesting in Mississippi after authorities said he shouted insults at people over a loudspeaker.

The High Court has ruled unanimously in the case of Gabriel Olivier, who claims his religious rights and freedom of expression were violated when he was arrested for refusing to move his preaching away from a suburban lecture hall. The city said he shouted insults such as “whores,” “Jezebel” and “nasties” at people, sometimes holding up signs showing aborted fetuses.

Olivier wanted to challenge the law, calling it an unconstitutional restriction on free speech, but lower courts blocked him from suing because he had been convicted of violating that law. A Supreme Court case in the 1990s found that people cannot use civil suits to weaken criminal convictions.

But Olivier’s lawyers said he only wanted to block future enforcement of the measure. They said he was peacefully protesting when he was arrested for refusing to move to a designated “protest zone.” The legal principle, they argued, affects free speech cases across the political spectrum.

The ruling clears the way for him to file a civil rights lawsuit, although it does not guarantee an eventual victory. Local governments have said a ruling in Olivier’s favor could have wide-ranging repercussions by allowing a rush of new lawsuits against cities and towns.

The city of Brandon said the restrictions did not concern religion and that it had many other legal avenues to challenge the law. The ordinance limiting Olivier to a designated “protest zone” has already survived another trial, city attorneys said.