Well, this isn't in MSM, but this is supposedly the account of what took place, written by one of the two young men to explain how things went down.

A little lengthy, but for those following the story:

The following is an account of the arrest incident at Key Largo elementary and middle school on Jan 19th 2007 while doing a Bible distribution.
We met at the Key Largo Elementary School 45 min. before dismissal time. That was at 2:30 PM. Two of the Gideons went inside to let the administrators know of our plans to distribute Bibles. They told us they received the permission, from the administrative office and also of a sheriff officer (She is a neighbor of mine, we are on a first name basis).
We started to set up at a location just north of the school, off of the property on a sidewalk/bikepath. As I was standing on the sidewalk, the principle came out and asked me to move off of the sidewalk further away from the school. I obliged politely.
After about 15 minutes into our distribution (the children were just starting to trickle out) an officer pulled up behind me in a patrol car and got out and asked me, “May I help you?” It was very clear to me of his agitation. I said, “We are here from the Gideons passing out Bibles.” He said, “The school complained, so you will have to leave.” I then asked him where we could then set up and he replied we had to be 500 ft. away. I said okay. I asked him politely if he could direct us on where to stand, so I knew we would not be asked to move again. He then became noticeably more upset and he then replied, “You have to go mile away from the perimeter of the school.” Again, I said ok. I then asked him again, politely, if he could direct us on where to stand so I knew we would comply. I also pointed across the highway to a vacant lot and asked him if that would be OK. He said no, and replied sternly, “Do you not understand what a perimeter is?” I replied, “No sir, I am not understanding what you’re saying. Can you please direct me of where we can pass these out without getting in trouble.” He then replied, “Get moving now or you’re going to jail.” I said okay and slowly leaned over to read his badge name. He replied again, “Do you want to go to jail?! I said start walking – now!” I then said OK and picked up my Bibles and walked with the other Gideon (he was also arrested, who rode with us to the distribution) south toward the truck. On my walk to the truck, I turned around to read the plate on the officer’s car so I could try to get a name. He then jumped out and came up to me forcefully and yelled, “What are you looking at?” I replied that I was trying to read his plate so I could get his identification. He said, “If you want a card then ask me for a card, but don’t look at my plate.” I said, “Ok, can I have a card?” He gave me one and then threatened me again with jail if I didn’t leave immediately. I then walked the remaining distance to the truck and got in. I used my cell to call the sheriff’s office to speak to his superior. I informed the dispatch what was happening and asked if I could speak to his superior. They took my name and number and told me his superior would call me back. At the same time, my friend got in the driver’s seat and proceeded to call our Gideon Camp President. Now, my friend was still in the driver’s seat talking, so I then called another Gideon to let him know what was happening with us and that he needs to expect a visitor from an officer. After initially thinking I was joking, he then listened to my warning and hung up. A short time after that, my friend put his truck in gear and attempted to pull onto the highway to leave. Then we got cutoff by two or more police cars. Two or more officers approached the truck and knocked on my windows as well as my friend’s window. They told us to get out of the truck. The original officer said, “Didn’t I say leave!” Before we could respond, he pointed south and said, “Who is that man down there?” Not knowing who he was talking about, because there were several men standing south on the sidewalk, I said, “What color shirt? I don’t know who you mean.” He just repeated, highly agitated, “Who is that man down there!” Again I responded the same. He then forced me to turn around and handcuffed my hands behind my back. He responded to another officer to arrest my friend. I said nothing and he pushed me to the back door. He opened the door and started to get in and he grabbed me and yelled, “Did I tell you to move! You only move when I say.” Again I said nothing and then without telling me to move, he shoved me around the other side of the car and put me in the backseat. As he was putting me in the backseat, he said, “Now you can pray to Jesus all the way to jail!” My friend and I waited in the backseat, cuffed in a crouched position, because the seat was all the way pushed back, with the windows rolled all the way up and the partition glass closed with no circulation of air, in the heat of the day (remember, we are in the tropics down here!). We were there for what seemed an hour and . The officers never told us why we were being arrested or read us our rights. We overheard two officers saying it was felony chargers, but I don’t recall what they said the charges were. After a long time (my friend’s hands were going completely numb), another officer opened the front door to get some papers and my friend asked if that officer might relieve pressure on his cuffs. The officer said yes and realized the air wasn’t on and turned the A/C on for us. The original officer also relieved pressure on my cuffs. They relieved pressure by putting our cuffs up front. They proceeded to tow our truck, even though we told them a fellow Gideon could drive it off.
After the tow truck left, they drove us to jail in Plantation Key. The original officer acted more polite on the way to jail. He told us he was dropping the charges to a misdemeanor. He still didn’t tell us what they were. We even had a chance to witness to him. He replied that he was a believer and his kids go to Christian school. They then processed us to jail. I don’t know how many details you need to know about that. I assume they followed normal procedure by removing our footwear and other articles of clothing. We were held till 7:30 or 8:00 PM even though we had the bail money right away. We asked for a report and they said our attorneys would have to ask for it. They then gave us several pieces of paper and set our court date of January 31 at 8:30 AM.
I want to make it clear that I tried to follow every command of the officers and every policy of the Gideons. As far as I know, I was never on school grounds during the whole ordeal. I stood where the administrator of the school and my fellow Gideons directed me. I even had a sheriff pass us in the beginning and she talked to us while we were waiting for the kids to get released.

-end-

.........................................................benny

Wow Benny poor baby! Wonder WHAT was written on the cop's car??? POLICE FRATERNITY (FREEMASONRY)BADGES??

I remember I received a couple of phone calls after 9/11 about "donating" to a Police "Fraternity". I said "no"; I said if I had to donate to them, then I should donate to poor people, veterans, firemen, etc...

They never called again. We even got a couple of letters "asking" for financial help.

Praise God for your patience and gentleness!
God bless you Benny, you and your Gideons!

And the arresting officer claimed to be a Christian? Well, we knew it was going to come to this. Lord, bless those who strive to work for You.

There is no doubt in my mind that it has begun...its gonna be a bumpy ride...I just thank God that Jesus is driving!

That is the exact things it happened to me. When i told about Jesus Christ to everyone. Some people say. Have you seen Jesus?. What did Jesus do for you? and other question. Some of them showed their hatred when i said about Jesus Christ. I told them and to my mum the exact words that Jesus said "And They Shall Be Hate Me for My Name Sake". Then they kept quiet. Let everyone hate me. I know there is someone special (Lord Jesus Christ) who love me. His love his far more sufficient for me. His love his equals to people who lived,people who died and people who is to be born.

Its very sad to hear that this happened to you, but i can not help but think of how different it would be in some countries where they will imprision or kill people for spreading the word of god as they stoned steven while saul watched and nodded.

Christians arrested, Cops call holding Bibles while lying prostrate
'disturbing peace'

Posted: July 7, 2007

Christians have been arrested recently at "gay" festivals for nothing
more than having a protest sign that is "wider than their torso," but
now police have gone even further, targeting Bible-carrying ministers
for praying on public property and for standing on a public sidewalk
near a "gay" festival.

One of the new cases comes from Elmira, N.Y., where police arrested
seven Christians who went into a public park where a "gay" fest was
beginning and started to pray, faces down, while holding their Bibles.

They were cited for "disturbing the peace," and Assistant Police Chief
ike Robertson said that the seven are accused of a "combination" of
allegations under that statute, which includes the "intent" to cause a
public inconvenience, any "disturbance" of a meeting of persons,
obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or taking part in "any act
that serves no legitimate purpose."

Pastor Mark Holick was arrested for being on sidewalk at Wichita "gay"
fest

The second such case arose in Wichita, Kan., where police arrested
Spirit One Christian Center Pastor Mark Holick, who had received
permission earlier from officers to be on the public sidewalk adjacent
to the park where the festival was occurring but then was arrested doing
exactly that.

Julian Raven, a street preacher, said that his group of seven assembled
to pray for three hours the night before Elmira's recent "pride"
festival in promotion of the homosexual lifestyle.

"We have a legal right to be at an event held in a public square. We're
not a hate group," he said. "We're Christians and we're going to be
there to pray."

He said he contacted police, who told him he had no free speech rights
in the public park.

"The female officer, she said, 'You're not going to cross the street.
You're not going to enter the park and you're not going to share your
religion with anybody in this park,'" he said.

"When she said that, for the first time in my life as a Christian, I
felt now my freedom of speech is threatened or challenged," he said. "I
was being told I could not share my religion with anybody in that park."

Raven said he told the officer "she was violating the Constitution that
she had sworn to uphold, and she was very agitated and adamant, and
couldn't look me straight in the eye."

Raven asked for the justification for such a threat and was not given a
response.

He said his team of Christians then went into the park, holding Bibles
over their heads to signify their subservience to God's Word, and lay on
their faces to pray.

Within three minutes, police officers had put handcuffs on the seven, to
the cheers of the homosexual crowd, he said.

He said a court date is pending for the seven July 23.

"I have the highest respect for the police officers. They have a very
difficult job to do. But we were treated unfairly in a public setting.
This was a hasty show of force. It was not called for," he said.

He said if the situation is left unchallenged, the city of Elmira will
be in the position of being able to control the content of people's
messages in a lawful assembly – or even thoughts if they are nearby.

"We didn't say boo to a goose, still we were arrested," he said.

The local newspaper reported the arrests came just "moments" after
Elmira Mayor John Tonello delivered a speech "celebrating diversity."

And the actions prompted some immediate criticism from newspaper
readers.

"I was appalled and disgusted by the gay stories strewn through the
… paper. … What was even more disturbing was the way the city
acted. Since when is it illegal to sit on the ground in a public park
and recite Bible verses? Are they not protected by the same Constitution
that allows gay people to have their gay pride event. These Bible
thumpers had their constitutional right to free speech and assembly
trampled on by the city. They should not have been arrested," said Kevin
Raznoff.

Robertson said that the Christians "certainly" have a right to assemble,
but not on public property when there's an "organized" event there.
Asked repeatedly about how the "disturbance" statute relates to First
Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech, he did not answer.

"Obviously, they caused a disruption to an event that was taking place,"
he said.

But Raven confirmed that the seven Christians did not approach a single
person, did not speak to anyone and did not even make any audible
statements until after they were arrested.

Pastor Holick's case in Wichita was even more drastic. He had gone, with
a team from his church, to pass out flyers and pray at a recent "pride"
festival held there.

He had checked with the police department and was told, "The sidewalk is
your friend."

"Upon arriving we began to set up," he said. "Immediately, I was
approached by WPD and told that we could not go into the park (a public
park mind you where everyone else – except the Christians – was
allowed in) and that we could not be on the sidewalk on that side of the
street but that we could go to the other side of the street.

"In other words, one side of the street is open to Christians but the
public park and the public sidewalk next to the park is not," he said.

But then Holick was arrested within about four minutes of his arrival.

"It is obvious that the WPD did not keep their word and that they wanted
to arrest as quickly as possible. The First Amendment … was cast
aside like so much garbage," he said.

"The sin is 'coming out' further and further and the church is now being
pushed further and further back inside the four walls of the church
building; we are the ones that are seen as 'the trouble makers.' The
police arrest the Christians and allow all manner of perversion to
flaunt itself in the streets of Wichita. And we the church … well
… I'm not sure we care," he said.

Police alleged that they asked Holick five times to "leave" the
festival, even though he never purchased the required admission fee or
went in.

Holick already had been targeted by the Internal Revenue Service for the
moral statements he posted on the church's sign.

The notice he got from the IRS warned him about putting his Christian
beliefs on the sign, and he responded that he would continue to preach
the Word of God.

Just a week earlier, it was reported that police in St. Petersburg,
Fla., arrested five Christians for carrying signs "wider than their
torsos" outside an officially designated protest area at that city's
homosexual festival.

Pastor Billy Ball, Assistant Pastor Doug Pitts, Frankie Primavera and
Josh Pettigrew, all of Faith Baptist Church in Primrose, Ga., were
arrested after leaving a small area set aside by city officials for
protest activities. Bill Holt, of Lighthouse Baptist Church in
Jefferson, Ga., was also taken into custody.

According to Lighthouse Pastor Kevin Whitman, the five men were told by
police their signs were not allowed outside the protest area because
they were wider than their torsos. When the men refused to put them
away, they were arrested for violating a controversial city ordinance
that governs permitted events.

St. Petersburg officials, following disturbances at a previous
homosexual pride festival, implemented rules governing outdoor events
that set aside "free speech zones," where protesters are allowed.

The resulting ordinance came under fire by the American Civil Liberties
Union and the Alliance Defense Fund for being too broad. It allows the
city to create prior restraints of speech on an event-by-event basis,
with virtually no predictable limits. It also criminalizes certain free
speech behavior around public events and authorizes the police to
enforce breaches of permits – the penalty for such breaches being
arrest.
...........................................benny

July 10, 2007
Hated of All Men
by Michael G. Mickey
(7-10-07)

Luke 17:28-30: Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Luke 21:17: And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.

A OneNewsNow.com article opens as follows:


Several Christian groups will be holding a press conference and rally Wednesday on Capitol Hill to lobby senators to oppose a bill that would include crimes against homosexuals, bisexuals, and transgender people in federal "hate crimes" statutes.

The coalition, which includes a Philadelphia ministry that was once charged with violating Pennsylvania's hate crimes law, is urging U.S. senators to reject S.B. 1105 -- known as the "Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007." Members of the coalition will be visiting Senate offices today and plan to meet privately tomorrow with Wisconsin Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, who are among the co-sponsors of the bill. Primary sponsor of the measure is Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts).

The Christian groups claim S.B. 1105 would silence biblical opposition to sexual immorality. Repent America director Michael Marcavage says tomorrow's press conference and rally are designed to get lawmakers to understand the legislation is a "thought crimes bill" that seeks to criminalize Christian evangelism. He recalls that in October 2004, 11 volunteers with his organization were arrested, jailed, and charged under Pennsylvania's hate crimes law for reading scripture passages to homosexuals at a homosexual pride event.

"They said it would never happen," says Marcavage. "The legislators who passed the hate crimes bill here in Pennsylvania said it would only happen if there was -- quote, unquote -- 'blood in the streets.' Well, that didn't happen on October 10, 2004. We were ministering peaceably at a homosexual event."
When Repent America's Michael Marcavage and four associates, who became known in mostly Christian circles as the 'Philadelphia Five', were arrested for merely exercising their constitutionally-guaranteed rights at a homosexual rally in 2004, videotape of which I have seen, RaptureAlert.com and many other Christian websites warned that it was potentially a harbinger of things to come.

As the above news story indicates, there is still great cause for concern that Satan and his minions, in an effort to silence the Word of God, may be on the verge of getting legislation passed in the 'land of the free and the home of the brave' that may intimidate, at the very least, every Christian who dares to speak a word in opposition to the sin of homosexuality as clearly laid out in the Bible. Think it can't happen? It can and it very well may, especially if we keep silent in relation to this legistlation's potential to bring harm to well-meaning Christians.

One of the biggest threats to the teaching of the Word of God today is Christians who are oblivious to where things are headed in relation to Bible prophecy. Jesus said that the day will come when we will be hated of all men for His name's sake. Of all men aside from those who have sworn allegiance to the Lamb at least! Thus, the need for the voting Church to be heard in Washington - and loudly - in relation to S.B. 1105.

If we fail to speak up now, scenes such as a recent one in Elmira, N.Y. where seven Christians, Bibles in hand, went into a public park where a "gay" fest was beginning and started to pray with their faces turned down only to be arrested may become commonplace. As seen in a WorldNetDaily story, these Christians stand accused of disturbing the peace and ""intent" to cause a public inconvenience, any "disturbance" of a meeting of persons, obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or taking part in "any act that serves no legitimate purpose."

Better not twiddle your thumbs in public in Elmira, New York! Especially if you have a Bible in your hand! If you do, you may be engaging in an "act that serves no legitimate purpose!"

In what has to be one of the best quotes I've heard from a Christian persecuted in a fashion like this, street preacher Julian Raven said of the Elmira miscarriage of justice, "We didn't say boo to a goose, still we were arrested."

According to the WorldNetDaily story, these seven Christians were told - point blank -that they were not going to share their religion during the homosexual rally prior to being arrested. WorldNetDaily indicates that Raven confirmed that the "seven Christians did not approach a single person, did not speak to anyone and did not even make any audible statements until after they were arrested." They were arrested for what they silently prayed I suppose. Either that or being Christian in public!

And theirs isn't the only example of this appearing in the news of our world today! WorldNetDaily also reported recently that five Christians were arrested at a St. Petersburg, Florida homosexual rally for carrying signs "wider than their torsos" outside the officially designated protest area.

This is just the beginning of where this is leading, Christians! The Body of Christ, which has more love for fallen mankind than any group on planet earth, is going to be labeled as hate-filled more and more often as our world becomes more and more politically correct and tolerant --- of everything other than the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Slowly but surely we're becoming hated of all men which is unfortunate. On the upside, however, Bible prophecy tells us that the world, at the time of Christ's return, will be much as it was in the days of Lot.

Lot was, according to 2nd Peter 2:7, "vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked" when he lived in Sodom. But God didn't ignore Lot's plight.

Lot was delivered --- and God's judgment fell on the ungodly, many of whom Lot had likely prayed for, loved, and set an example for.

Keep your eyes on the skies, Christians! Our redemption draweth nigh!........................................benny

Benny! I am sorry for what happened but you are a total inspiration for me! I am very interested in the Gideon's work. I recently decided on my own to get Bibles and place them in the public domain where people are bound to come across them. I realized a while back that I am not always the best at explaining things, so my vocal witness isn't always the best. By placing the Word in places like that, you make more chance encounters with the bible occur, and as a byproduct choices have to be made by someone as to what to do with the Bible. Do you think as an individual I should be wary as I place them? I'm not talking hundreds, just one here and there with a note inside "This Bible belongs to whomever finds it" so they don't feel they stole it if they find it.
Anyhow, Benny - total inspiration indeed.

Well, this isn't in MSM, but this is supposedly the account of what took place, written by one of the two young men to explain how things went down.

.............................Dear Dio,....If you would have read the first sentence, from post # 1.....you would or should have realized that I had only posted the topic, and was not involved with the incident there in Key Logo Florida..............So I can not take the credit.................As to placing bibles for any to take and read, I think the Lord knows your heart, and that you will receive your reward in heaven....Surely, you are storing up treasures in heaven.........I myself, have placed endtime prophecy books to where the public had free access to read and take them.....or have placed bible tracks in the former soviet union,back in the 70's.......I would not worry where I placed a book....You do what your heart tells you to do, and Jesus will do what He has to do.............God Bless.........................................benny

Ah, well, you're an inspiration anyhow, but that you for clearing it up haha! Thanks for the encouragement also