Evangelist preacher booted from NC park says city trampled on his religious freedom

An evangelical minister from out of state said he was sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ when officials at a park in North Carolina asked him to leave.

Now he’s suing, saying the rules trample on his constitutional freedoms.

Rodney Keister of Pennsylvania is the founder of “Evangelism Mission” — a nonprofit dedicated to “sharing the Christian faith in open public areas throughout the country,” according to a complaint filed Friday in federal court. He was reportedly evangelizing with his daughter at LeBauer Park in Greensboro when the incident occurred.

But city attorney Charles “Chuck” Watts told McClatchy News on Monday the city doesn’t run LeBauer Park. It’s operated by a private organization called Greensboro Downtown Parks Inc., he said.

The encounter occurred between Keister and GDPI — not city officials, Watts said.

According to its website, GDPI is a nonprofit that partners with the city of Greensboro to manage the downtown parks like LeBauer. Keister contends the three-acre park is owned by the city and operated by GDPI, and the two entities work together to set the rules. But GDPI is not named in the litigation.

According to the complaint, Keister travels around the country evangelizing in public places by giving away so-called gospel tracts, holding signs with Bible verses, singing, preaching and engaging in one-on-one conversations.

His work does not involve gathering large crowds, impeding traffic, asking for donations, seeking any sort of membership or requesting signatures, Keister’s attorneys said in the complaint.

“Keister understands some people might disagree with his religious message, but he does not seek to offend anyone or cause a disturbance,” the lawsuit states.

According to the park rules posted online, “disruption of the peace or any other negative behavior” and “the distribution and/or posting of flyers or other marketing materials and solicitations of any kind” are explicitly prohibited.

On Sept. 12, Keister was handing out Christian literature, holding signs and singing gospel music with his daughter in the park’s plaza when GDPI’s executive director approached him, according to the complaint.

He reportedly asked whether Keister received the necessary permission “for expressive activity.”

The director subsequently informed him of the park’s rules prohibiting solicitation, told him and his daughter to leave, and “confirmed LeBauer Park is city-owned, but added the park is privately managed,” the lawsuit states.

Keister then called 911, believing his right to free speech was being infringed upon, according to the complaint.

But the Greensboro Police Department sided with GDPI, his attorneys said in the lawsuit. They later sent a letter to the police that “explained his concerns with the restriction on ‘unauthorized solicitation’ barring his religious speech in a public park.”

The complaint states that the city attorney responded by saying Keister would not be allowed in the park “unless he could avoid violation of park rules by avoiding third-party complaints over his speech.” GDPI would also reportedly have to approve the religious material he wanted to hand out.

But those rules hamper Keister’s constitutional rights, according to the lawsuit, which seeks a judge’s order declaring the rules unconstitutional, attorney’s fees and $1 in damages.

Watts, the city attorney, denies his office had any involvement in the way Keister was treated.

It’s also not the first lawsuit Keister has filed.

In 2018, AL.com reported he asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal over similar issues on the University of Alabama’s campus. Keister was preaching on the sidewalk across from the quad in 2016 when campus personnel reportedly asked him to leave.

Justices denied his petition.