Judge says no rights violated at Arab fest

DEARBORN (AP) -- A judge says free-speech rights weren't violated when police officers asked Christian demonstrators to leave an Arab festival in Dearborn last year. Detroit federal Judge Patrick Duggan says safety was a critical issue last June. Bottles were thrown at a group called Bible Believers after a man with a megaphone said Muslims were going to hell. Wayne County sheriff's officers feared someone would get hurt and asked the group to leave. No one was ticketed for their actions at the festival, although the driver of the Bible Believers van was stopped for failing to have a license plate. The judge noted that other Christians evangelized at the festival without any problems. In a separate case, Dearborn recently agreed to pay Christian activists who were arrested at the 2010 festival. Published: Thu, May 16, 2013