Gabriel Olivier, a pastor and evangelist who was arrested for sharing his Christian faith outside an event venue in Mississippi, is awaiting an official date for his case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 2021, Olivier was arrested for evangelizing in a public park outside of an amphitheater in Brandon, Mississippi. His proselytizing violated an ordinance that requires Olivier to share his beliefs in a designated “protest” zone, rather than freely in the crowded areas outside the amphitheater.
Brandon’s Code of Ordinances restricts access to public free speech during events at the Brandon Amphitheater, a venue commonly used for concerts that holds a capacity of more than 8,500 people. Three hours prior to a ticketed event’s opening and one hour after an event ends, anyone “engaging in public protests and/or demonstrations, regardless of the content and/or expression thereof” can only conduct their speech in a designated protest area, the ordinance stipulates. Megaphones or loudspeakers that can be “clearly audible more than 100 feet from where the protest area is located is prohibited” and demonstrators are forbidden to use any platform that raises a speaker’s height. The law also restricts some forms of sign usage.
The 2019 ordinance, established a year after Olivier started preaching there, was reportedly in response to Olivier and other street evangelists’ presence around the amphitheater.
Since the protest area distances him from crowds, Olivier moved out of the zone to be closer to concert attendees. Olivier was then arrested and fined. After paying the $304 fine, Olivier, sought legal help, contending that the ordinance is unconstitutional by violating his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
Olivier became a Christian after a street evangelist shared the Gospel with him on a public sidewalk.
“I have a calling from God on my life to go out and share the Gospel in the public forums,” Olivier said in a First Liberty Institute interview. “So that involves public sidewalks most of the time. And I love to go out and tell folks about Jesus. It’s a great spot. Concerts attract a lot of people, and so we’re able to hand out Gospel tracks to people and tell them about the message of Christ as they’re walking to the concert.”
Both a district court and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the case. After the full court of appeals declined him a hearing, First Liberty Institute asked the Supreme Court to hear the case. In July, the Supreme Court granted a hearing. First Liberty Institute is expecting a date for oral arguments to be announced soon.
Nate Kellum, the First Liberty Institute attorney fighting for Olivier, predicts that the case will be heard in December or January. In an interview, Kellum explained that they are fighting for Olivier’s case to be heard in the federal court that dismissed his claim.
The dismissal was based on a 1994 case called Heck v. Humphrey in which a prisoner challenged his guilty verdict, claiming that his constitutional rights had been violated.
Kellum said that case was misapplied because it looked backward to the prisoner’s conviction, while Olivier is looking to the future, hoping to be able to evangelize in public areas again. In addition, the Heck decision specifically dealt with the rights of a prisoner. “Gabe was never a prisoner,” Kellum added.
Olivier has been consistently sharing the Gospel in public areas for about 10 years. He hopes that his legal battle will eventually help protect others seeking to exercise their constitutional rights for the sake of the Gospel.
“I’ve been able to able to benefit from other people and other cases that established my rights and freedoms,” Olivier said. “And I want to be able to do that for those coming after me. It is important to fight these battles even though it doesn’t make for a comfortable, quiet or peaceful life.”
