A chaotic scene unfolded last week during a Pride event in Lakeland, Florida. A man who attended the event not to join in the festivities but to preach the gospel was filmed being escorted away by police officers after he was shunned by the crowd. The incident was shared on Facebook by another attendee and, so far, the public has been split on whether the preacher was exercising his right to free speech or disrupting an event.
Before police intervened, the man had been standing amidst a small crowd preaching. As he spoke, his audience tried to drown him out by blowing whistles and clapping loudly. With the noise from the crowd and the loud music blasting from the event, it was difficult to hear what the preacher was saying.
Officers eventually approached the man and started leading him away from the area. Seeing him being escorted out, many people in the crowd began cheering. The preacher, however, seemed reluctant to leave and was seen pushing back against the officers as they continued to guide him away.
Netizens React to the Florida Pride Event Incident
In the comments under the Facebook post, many people who watched the video were in support of how the crowd and the officers reacted. “That’s what I like to see👌,” one person commented. Another cheered, “Way to go Lakeland PD!” A third said, “He deserved it, if it is not your thing then stay home!!” A fourth remarked, “There’s freedom of speech and then there’s harassment.”
One commenter who identified as gay wrote, “I think its okay for anyone to attend and speak the gospel with LOVE not hate. I’m a gay person who believes everyone has rights….just respect everyone.” Someone else chimed in, “If he would have stayed out on the sidewalk, he would have been fine because of the public right of way. This event must have had a city authorized permit.”
Meanwhile, there were also netizens who questioned whether the police response was justified. “Lakeland PD totally wrong on that one it’s freedom of speech he wasn’t touching anybody or anything,” one viewer argued. Another added, “The cop could of told him to leave go watever there was totally no need in them using force to make him leave [sic].”
It remains unclear why officers decided to remove the preacher from the event. One comment from someone who claims to have been present during the incident alleged that the preacher had been at the event for roughly two hours and had been asked multiple times to leave before police became involved. They also claimed he had harassed attendees and openly used slurs around them.
