90-Year-Old Man, Two Pastors Charged For Passing Out Food To Homeless
Police in Fort Lauderdale, Florida have reportedly charged a 90-year-old man and two pastors with handing out food to the homeless in public.
The police charged the men with violating a new city ordinance that prohibits the public sharing of food. The men, including advocate for the homeless Arnold Abbott, and two Christian pastors, Dwayne Black, pastor of The Sanctuary Church in Fort Lauderdale, and Mark Sims of St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church in Coral Springs, are subject to 60 days in jail and 500 dollar fines each for the charges.
Abbott, who has long been an advocate for the homeless in Fort Lauderdale, told the Local 10 News that he may be forced to take the city to court if the ordinance remains in place and if he does face charges. Abbott sued over a decade ago after the city tried to stop him from feeding homeless people on a Fort Lauderdale beach, and he subsequently won the lawsuit.
"I'm going to have to go to court again and sue the city of Fort Lauderdale -- a beautiful city," Abbott told the local media outlet. "These are the poorest of the poor, they have nothing, they don't have a roof over their heads. How do you turn them away?"
Pastor Black told NBC News that despite the threats of a fine and jail time, he and others are planning to feed more homeless people are early as this Wednesday afternoon.
"This is not how our government is supposed to work," Black told NBC News. "These are people who need to be fed, and we will be feeding [again] today at 5 o'clock."
