Reading Mayor Joins Police Chief in DEFENDING Pride Arrest: ‘Freedom of Speech does NOT Include the Right to Disrupt an Organized Event’
Reading Mayor Eddie Moran has issued a statement following the controversial arrest of protester Damon Atkins outside a Gay pride event that he was attending, suggesting to local news that he was pleased with the way the situation was handled:
Reading city Mayor Eddie Moran, who participated in the pride rally, said it was a “wonderful event,” and claimed that Atkins’ First Amendment rights did not include the right to speak publicly across the street from the event.
“With regard to the incident, the City respects the First Amendment rights of all individuals,” Moran said in a statement provided to 69 News. “However, freedom of speech does not include the right to disrupt an organized event and interfere with the rights of others.”
In a post announcing the event, Moran vowed to “treat every person and resident in this city equally, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity.”
This is clearly not the case if you’re a heterosexual white male peacefully exercising First Amendment rights in public. Moran was not the only one justifying the arrest. Police Chief Richard Tornielli also defended the officer who made the arrest, saying:
Our officers gave him warnings to cease that behavior as it was disrupting the event that was taking place.”
In 2019, former Reading mayor Wally Scott prohibited City Council from flying the flag, but that changed when Moran took office, being an enthusiastic supporter of all things LGBTQ. He said at the time that promoting the LGBTQ flag from government buildings was “about the unity and relationships that have been created to ensure everybody in Reading has a voice.”
He has since hosted and cosponsored the city’s first-ever “Pride March and Rally” and his office now has an official Liaison to the LGBTQ community, and has this message posted on their city’s website:
