Is It Legal to Silence Street Preachers? Supreme Court Will Decide

You've likely seen them outside sporting events, concerts, or on college campuses: Armed with signs covered in scripture and loudspeakers to deliver the good word, street preachers hope to convert the unwashed masses one megaphone message at a time. 

But how far should these (often intentionally) inflammatory messengers be allowed to go? One Mississippi evangelist found out. After calling some passerby slurs, he was barred by local ordinances from demonstrating outside a local amphitheater, isolated to a designated protest zone away from event attendees. 

He sued, and now the Supreme Court just agreed to hear his case. Should street preachers have the right to offend in the name of Jesus?

Banned in Brandon

Many of the 25,000 residents of Brandon, Mississippi are familiar with Gabriel Olivier, a well-known evangelist and street preacher in the area. For years, he has spread his message through a megaphone outside packed events at the 8,400-seat Brandon Amphitheater.

But the city of Brandon was seemingly not fond of Olivier’s message, which was incendiary even by street preacher standards.

Through his megaphone, Olivier was known to call passersby any number of slurs, including “whores,” “sissies,” and “Jezebels.” After a 2019 incident where he used such language, the city of Brandon passed an ordinance isolating Olivier to a designated protest area further away from the amphitheater, as well as implementing restrictions on the loudness of megaphones and the size of signs.

Though this ordinance applied to all demonstrators regardless of their message, Olivier says that quarantining him to a specific protest zone was a blatant attempt to squash his religious freedom in particular, and that it “forbids him” from spreading the gospel – an essential part of his faith.

Which begs the question: by intervening, was the city isolating a public nuisance… or stomping on his First Amendment rights?

Evangelism or Harassment?

In 2021, a frustrated Olivier tried to return to his initial protest area – only to be met by police, who arrested him for violating the city ordinance. He paid the fine, then sued, alleging the city violated his First Amendment right to free speech and practice of religion.

A district court rejected his claim, citing an old Supreme Court case, Heck v. Humphrey, as precedent. Olivier’s lawyers argue the courts improperly applied the old case, and say he has every right to spread his religious message within eye and earshot of every event goer outside of Brandon Amphitheater… no matter how inflammatory it is. This fall, the Supreme Court will decide whether the city acted improperly.

Is Street Preaching Effective?

Olivier claims that spreading the gospel is an intrinsic part of his religious beliefs, and that preventing him from doing so to a large audience is a legal affront to his First Amendment rights.

But others say he’s intentionally incendiary, and that he isn’t spreading the gospel, he’s just harassing innocent people trying to attend a concert or sporting event. They say that the name-calling is proof enough that Olivier is more interested in provoking a reaction than anything else.

In addition to large events, Gabriel has reportedly also preached outside women's health clinics in the past, leading to complaints by pro-choice groups: 

It's been a criticism of other well-known street preachers – that they're in the business of generating attention and getting a rise out of people (as opposed to sincerely spreading the good word of Jesus). 

A campus preacher known as "Sister Cindy" has made a name for herself with lewd sermons that attract the attention of college students:

But regardless of its effectiveness, should this kind of speech be limited by the state? Where do you stand?