A pro-life activist was detained by police for preaching the gospel outside of an abortion clinic in Ohio. Despite being hit with criminal charges, the Christian defiantly returned to the abortion clinic to present alternatives to pregnant women and save unborn lives.
Zack Knotts and his wife spent three Saturdays in December preaching the gospel outside of the Northeast Ohio Women’s Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, roughly five miles from Akron. The Christian couple pled with pregnant women to choose life.
‘I will preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I will warn people of the wrath to come if they don’t repent. But I always say that there’s good news. There’s hope for you in Christ.’
Zack and Lindsay Knotts were at the abortion clinic to offer resources to pregnant women to hopefully sway their opinions about aborting their babies.
“We have free resources available,” Zack told the Daily Signal. “We contacted an adoption agency, a couple of pregnancy resource centers, and got some of their information. We have folders with literally everything they could need if they were able to come talk to us, and we hold it up in the air.”
The Knotts are so dedicated to their pro-life mission that they are willing to adopt a baby that would have otherwise been aborted.
“One of the greatest things that we think we could do to demonstrate that is to adopt a child that would have otherwise been murdered, bring them into a family that will love them, will show them Christ, will give them everything that they need,” Knotts stated.
“Knowing God used us to save that baby, that would be the greatest thing in the world, the greatest victory of our lives,” he explained. “To hold the baby that week the Lord used us to help stay alive.”
The Knotts have a 3-year-old of their own.
Knotts was preaching the gospel from the sidewalk outside the Northeast Ohio Women’s Center on Dec. 28.
“There’s hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ for all of you,” Knotts said.
Lindsay Knotts captured video of the moment that police interrupted Zack and demanded, “You’re coming with us.”
The officer accused Knotts of committing disorderly conduct.
Knotts is compliant with the officer’s commands; he walks to a police cruiser and gets inside the vehicle.
Knotts vowed to sue the two officers, the police department, and the city of Cuyahoga Falls for violating his First Amendment rights.
Lindsay is seen on video asking the officer what crimes her husband has committed, and the cop responds, “So we’ve had complaints that he’s causing an inconvenience or alarm to another. We also have recordings of him doing that, and obviously the statute here in the city of Cuyahoga Falls — you’re not allowed to do that — under disorderly conduct.”
The other officer is heard telling Zack that there have been “a lot of people complaining about you.”
Lindsay said of the incident, “My first emotion was just pure shock. He was standing there on the public sidewalk, pleading with these escorts, with the women, telling them about the good news of the gospel, that they can be forgiven, that we have free resources for them.”
Knotts was charged with disorderly conduct.
According to the misdemeanor citation, Knotts “did knowingly generate noise by means of a megaphone causing [inconvenience] and alarm to passersby at the Women’s Clinic.”
The Cuyahoga Falls disorderly conduct ordinance 509.03 (a) (6) states: “Generating or, being the owner or person in possession or control of a vehicle or premises by reason of employment, agency, or otherwise, permitting to be generated unreasonable noise or loud sound which is likely to cause inconvenience or annoyance to persons of ordinary sensibilities by means of a radio, phonograph, television, tape player, loudspeaker or any other sound amplifying device or by any horn, drum, piano or other musical or percussion instrument.”
Knotts told Live Action, “The charge was based on the claim that my preaching ‘annoyed’ passersby, which is an entirely subjective basis for restricting free speech. This action was taken despite my clear constitutional right to free speech and religious expression, and we firmly believe it violates my First and Fourth Amendment rights.”
Zack explained, “I will preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I will warn people of the wrath to come if they don’t repent. But I always say that there’s good news. There’s hope for you in Christ.”
Nonetheless, the Knotts defied the authorities and returned to the clinic this past Saturday to try to offer help to the pregnant women.
During their most recent appearance at the abortion clinic, the Knotts were besieged by patient escorts who hoisted up large umbrellas and blared loud noises with kazoos in close proximity to the pro-life activists.
The Knotts contend that the screeching of the musical instruments violates ordinance 509.03 (a) (6) — the same ordinance that Zack was cited for in his disorderly conduct charge.
An Instagram video from Lindsay shows the confrontation by the clinic escorts.
However, when a complaint was made to a Cuyahoga Falls Police Department officer regarding the noise of the kazoos, he responded, “The kazoos are not annoying you.”
After pointing out that the ordinance specifically says “musical or percussion instrument,” the officer said he would still not enforce the ordinance until a local resident lodged a complaint. The officer claimed that because the pro-life activists were on the sidewalk, they “don’t really qualify as a resident.”
Knotts told Blaze News, “The Cuyahoga Falls Police Department refused to enforce the same ordinance with the escorts that they enforced against me. There is clear partiality, and now we have a violation of my 14th Amendment rights.”
“I have always had tremendous respect for the police, but I do believe it is only fair they are held to the same standard all of us are held to and when they are wrong, there is accountability,” Knott stressed to Blaze News. “If we don’t hold them accountable, then any oppression will only get worse. Subjective, arbitrary ordinances are unconstitutional and give police the ability to do exactly this — enforce the ‘law’ unjustly and with partiality. That’s always wrong, and it needs to change.”
The Cuyahoga Falls Police Department declined to provide a comment to the Daily Signal.
During his first court appearance on Thursday, Knotts pleaded not guilty. He has a hearing scheduled for Jan. 9.
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