According to reports, police in Watertown, Wisconsin, arrested a 19-year-old street preacher at a drag queen event during the city’s annual “Pride in the Park” on Saturday, July 29.
A Facebook advertisement described the event as a “day of celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community” with “loads of family entertainment,” which included “a Children’s Dance Party, Drag Story Hour, 2 Drag Shows, Food Trucks, and an EXPANDED vendor showcase.”
A video of the incident was recorded by Jason Storms, who is an evangelist on staff at Mercy Seat Christian Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin. In the video, which has gone viral, 19-year-old Marcus Schroeder and a fellow church member can be seen being detained by police officers.
Schroeder can also be heard preaching and reading the Bible towards those attending “Pride in the Park,” using a microphone and an amplifier on the sidewalk near the park, but behind a barrier of the event.
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Police surrounded Schroeder, and one officer grabbed the microphone from him, unplugging the street preacher’s equipment.
One person informed the officers that they were told they could “speak outside on the sidewalk freely.”
“You can speak, but there is no amplified devices,” one of the officers replied.
Three officers then grabbed the young man, placed his hands behind his back, handcuffed him, and took him to a police cruiser. Schroeder was charged with unlawful use of sound amplification and resisting arrest.
“You guys are acting like thugs,” Storms told the officers. “He has every right to be out here engaging in speech…you know that you just did wrong.”
According to Storms, Schroeder was one of more than 200 protestors from various groups gathered at the park to protest the drag queen show. Schroeder is a member of a group that calls itself “Warriors for Christ.”
