Criminal charges against Damon Atkins, the Pennsylvania man who was arrested Saturday for publicly quoting the Bible, were dropped after the county District Attorney reviewed videos of the incident.
“After a review of the incident which took place on June 3, 2023, in the 800 block of Washington Street in the City of Reading, the District Attorney’s Office has withdrawn the charges of disorderly conduct filed against Damon Atkins,” a Facebook post from the Berks County District Attorney said.
In an e-mail provided to The Lancaster Patriot, Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach said that “based on the review of the evidence and the law the Berks County DA withdrew the charges today against Damon Atkins.”
In an earlier e-mail provided to The Lancaster Patriot, Commissioner Leinbach said the arrest could lead to potential legal action against the city and police department.
“From what I have seen thus far I believe this was an unlawful arrest and could open the City of Reading and their police department to legal action,” Leinbach said in the e-mail.
The story of Atkins’ arrest, initially covered by The Lancaster Patriot, spread to numerous media outlets nationwide.
In addition to body-worn cameras on the police officers, the entire incident was filmed by Matthew Wear, of Reading. Wear’s YouTube video had garnered over 64,000 views in five days. The video was also widely distributed via other social media accounts.
The video shows Atkins standing on a public sidewalk, on the other side of the street from a pride festival, holding a sign and quoting a portion of a Bible verse before police sergeant Bradley McClure handcuffs him and leads him away.
If the City of Reading wants to escape God’s judgment for its support of sodomy, repentance is the only option, and it will be proven by refusing to support the wicked (God hates) pride event in the future.
So the charges against Damon Atkins have been dropped? Was it due to the media coverage from The Lancaster Patriot, The Gateway Pundit, Newsweek, Daily Caller, Blaze Media, Andrew Torba and others that exposed Bradley McClure’s lawless and unconstitutional behavior? It appears he wants to end up on https://thefreethoughtproject.com/cop-watch.
If the Reading police department has any mettle, Bradley McClure will be summarily fired and never permitted to wear the badge again. Thank God Berks County has a district attorney and county commissioner who respect the law.
“From what I have seen thus far I believe this was an unlawful arrest and could open the City of Reading and their police department to legal action,” Leinbach said in the e-mail.
Many people are already asking how they can contribute on GiveSendGo for the forthcoming legal action, so it’s only a matter of time before a huge lawsuit is brought against the City of Reading. Bradley McClure is probably aware that he can also be sued personally–without the support of the police union–for up to $250,000.
“Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.”
– Proverbs 28:5
“He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous [Bradley McClure] are both alike an abomination to the Lord.”
– Proverbs 17:15
If the Reading police department wants to escape God’s judgment, it has only one choice regarding Bradley McClure.
Well said, Tim.
and, may I ad, much respect to The Lancaster Patriot for breaking a story that has been picked up by multiple major news outlets and what is now nationally-known news.
Yes, well said!
Perhaps our 1st amendment is already gone. 😳
You’re just as guilty as people at or supporting PRIDE events. God does not judge sins differently or put a degree of evil on each sin. Murder is just as sinful as lying to a parent or going to a PRIDE event, per your words. God judges all sinners equally.
Romans 1:18-32- No sin is greater than the other.
James 2:10. – For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
Matthew 7:1-5 – “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
The Bible, God’s word, says if we break one sin, we are breaking all sin. So God does not judge whether one sin is worse than another. The Bible also says that we should not judge other people’s sin when we are guilty of sin ourselves. If we do judge, and whatever judgment you lay on someone else, God will use that judgment against you because the sins were equal. Their sin was no worse than your sin.
So stop judging LBGTQ people. They are no different than you. They are sinners but you are a sinner as well. Don’t use the Bible to justify your hatred of LGBTQ people.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
John 13:34-35. – I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.
Psalm 107:8-9 – Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all people, because God satisfied the one who was parched with thirst, and he filled up the hungry with good things!
The Bible doesn’t state to love only Christians and it doesn’t tell us to hate certain groups like the LGBTQ community. The Bible says “so you must also love each other”. The lord did works for “all people”. Again, it does not exclude anyone, including LGBTQ. SO START SHOWING LOVE TO ALL GROUPS, INCLUDING LGBTQ PEOPLE, BECAUSE GOD COMMANDS IT!
Yes, God does not see big sin and small sin, just sin.
But God clearly tells us to spread his love and word. It also tells us to show them the way, which includes pointing out things that can keep them from God, that is what was being done here.
Let’s flip the script, and say this was a city celebration of Easter or Christmas (basically any religious holiday) and a few LGBTQ folk showed up to protest it, do you think they would be arrested for acting in the same way as he did?
Nope, the cops would just stand there with their hands in their pockets and say, sorry, nothing we can do, they have the right to peacefully protest, and they are using their right to freedom of speech. And the police would be right, just as this this guy should have had the same rights.
Yet in this case, as soon as he got there, they harassed him, then after a few words, not even a full sentence, they immediately stopped him, arrested him pushed him up to a wall to secure him (even though he never resisted at all), then escorted him out of site of the event (but not out of view of the cameras), sat him on the ground, and searched his backpack, before taking him to jail.
This is an obvious case of, at best selective law enforcement, at worse police misconduct and abuse of power.
These officers should be reprimanded, they obviously do not know the law.
Well Written
You’re just as guilty as people at or supporting PRIDE events. God does not judge sins differently or put a degree of evil on each sin. Murder is just as sinful as lying to a parent or going to a PRIDE event, per your words. God judges all sinners equally.
Romans 1:18-32- No sin is greater than the other.
James 2:10. – For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
Matthew 7:1-5 – “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
The Bible, God’s word, says if we break one sin, we are breaking all sin. So God does not judge whether one sin is worse than another. The Bible also says that we should not judge other people’s sin when we are guilty of sin ourselves. If we do judge, and whatever judgment you lay on someone else, God will use that judgment against you because the sins were equal. Their sin was no worse than your sin.
So stop judging LBGTQ people. They are no different than you. They are sinners but you are a sinner as well. Don’t use the Bible to justify your hatred of LGBTQ people.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
John 13:34-35. – I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.
Psalm 107:8-9 – Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all people, because God satisfied the one who was parched with thirst, and he filled up the hungry with good things!
When sin is celebrated and presented in a defiant, “IN YOUR FACE!” manner like these morally depraved LGBTQIA+, it is our duty to publicly condemn it. Condemn the sin as publicly as it is committed.
Any and every sin not repented of and abandoned will send the soul to hell, but that does not negate our duty to warn those openly and defiantly engaged in sin of the danger to their souls! IT IS YOUR JOB AS A CHRISTIAN TO CALL OUT SIN AND SINNERS AND WARN THEM!!! IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE THIS, YOU ARE NOT A TRUE CHRISTIAN.
“If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.” – EZEKIEL 3:18-19 (ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION)
I know Brad McClure, I worked with him. He was a very lazy cop and avoided actual work. This would explain why he made a bad arrest. When you’ve been a cop as long as he has been and you never arrest anyone, you probably forget what a legal or unlawful arrest looks like
This was so clearly a retaliatory arrest by McClure that it’s incredible. McClure is the living embodiment of a South Park character screaming “respect mah authoritay.” Please encourage Atkins to sue McClure, since otherwise nobody will ever face consequences for McClure’s petty tyranny.
I wonder the arresting officer and the two “women” with him were homosexuals themselves? I guarantee you there are probably more of them on the force across the nation than any one of us would want to even imagine. They infiltrate to bully their agenda through.
We have a man in Ardmore, PA, who reminds people that GOD does still exists. He is quiet but has a poster size sandwich board on his body and he walks through town. When I see him I toot my horn & wave in support! Otherwise I am subject to reading the bumper stickers & many yard signs of the Leftist population here w/their HATE, pro-abortion, Kerry/Edwards, gay flags & BLM !
Nobody is pro- abortion. how many women have you raped?
See also :
« Fall of Father Dr. Wolfgang Rothe – a gay activist alias “Whiskey-Vikar”
(… And he fell, and his fall was great – Mt 7,27) » :
https://gloria.tv/post/LUpCzi9KybgA23DjcZtZGjKNw
and/or :
https://www.salon24.pl/u/edalward/1290891,the-fall-of-father-dr-wolfgang-rothe
… and also see this:
“Counterattack by the Brotherhood of the nine commandments”
https://gloria.tv/post/oTHdAs9PPYuW1LkoVTSwsfjJm
Thank you
SUE THEM.
SUE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
SUE THE OFFICER.
THIS IS WRONGFUL ARREST.
While the sergeant is definately at fault, I’m more concerned about the respones from the his upper commend, the mayor and chief of police. They were more concerned about not offending the Gay community than there were infringing on the rights of a citizen.
The sergeant should have known better. He should have to go back into training about the constitution, the laws of his district etc.
NO! NOT MORE TRAINING, YOU LAIN-BRAIN!! JAIL!! HE KNOWS HE MADE AN IMPROPER ARREST. HE DID THAT JUST TO NEUTRALIZE HIM AND INTIMIDATE HIS FRIENDS INTO SILENCE. THIS IS TYRANNY; NOT IGNORANCE. STOP GIVING THESE VILE BULLIES IN UNIFORM THE EXCUSE OF IGNORANCE!!!!
Officer Bradley McClure should be forced to cite and write the 1st amendment one thousand times. Then fire him!
Everything has been very well said. Thank you Lancaster Patriot for printing TRUTH.
Every church in Reading and indeed all of Lancaster, should be worried 😫 f this. If your congregation includes any Reading police officers they should be shunned from the community. I realized this is guilt by association and may sound extreme, but it is time that any “good apples” be made to realize that they must police themselves. Untill they can prove that the organization is not anti-christianity, then they must be denied fellowship.
Sad thing is the citizens will be on the hook for any money paid for in lawsuits for this. The police and city officials will walk completely free and clear, ready to do it again when it suits them.
If this abusive cop can be sued in his personal capacity, sue him out of house and home. Don’t leave him so much as a chamber pot to micturate in!
He should sue anyways, this was a blatant violation of constitutional rights and a nice big settlement will serve to discourage the next person who decided to treat Christianity as a 2nd class religion.
Well stated.
We serve AN awesome GOD! Thank you Jesus!
The truth shall set you free!!!! John 8:32 !
Congratulations Brother Atkins for taking a stand. Corruption is huge, even with the officials. Abuse of power is a criminal act. The Pride event is not the only group with absolute and exclusive rights. The US Constitution is for all Americans not for a “selected group.”