San Bernardino, California — March 27, 2015. A U.S. District Judge in California entered a preliminary injunction on behalf of CRE client, Mark Mante. As a result, Mante is now free to return to public sidewalks and ways outside of two San Bernardino Courthouses and share his Christian faith.
Going back to 2007, Mante routinely stood on public ways outside the historic San Bernardino Courthouse and shared his faith. But, on Dec. 3, 2012, a Deputy Sheriff stopped Mante and told him about a Court Order requiring Mante to abandon his expressive activities and leave the area. The Order detailed a policy regulating speech activities outside of county courthouses subjecting Mante to fines up to $1,500.00 for each time he shared his Christian beliefs.
The preliminary injunction allows Mante to go back and share the gospel without fear of reprisal. “Christians shouldn’t be punished from expressing their views in a clearly public area,” said CRE Chief Counsel Nate Kellum. “Mante was doing nothing more than sharing his earnestly-held beliefs, with people willing to interact with him. His activity is protected free speech that cannot be criminalized on a public sidewalk, whether it is near a courthouse or anywhere else.”
