‘It’s a free country’

One well-publicized case ended this month in a slight win for religious liberty and freedom of speech. The City of Bloomington, Minn., gave up on its case against Ramin Parsa and agreed not to pursue prosecution further—and the resolution offers some lessons for others hit by clampdowns.

The legal battle began on Aug. 25 when Parsa, a pastor from Los Angeles, was strolling The Mall of America, a huge enterprise that bills itself as a tourist destination for 40 million people annually from around the world. Enrique Flores, a Minnesota church elder, and Flores’ 14-year-old son were with him.

Parsa, 33, says two Somali women approached the threesome at 8:30 p.m., struck up a conversation, and asked if Parsa was a Muslim. When he said he used to be but was now a Christian, the women asked him to explain. So Parsa told them how he converted to Christianity in Iran, survived stabbing by a Muslim, escaped to Turkey, and in 2008 gained admission to the United States as a Christian refugee. He is now a U.S. citizen.

Parsa and Flores both say the women were eager to talk, but a third woman overheard the conversation and asked Parsa to shut up. When he said he was just answering questions, the third woman shouted that he was harassing them and left to find a security guard, who arrived and told Parsa he couldn’t solicit at the mall. Parsa said he was merely answering questions during a private conversation.

The guard walked away. Parsa and his friends went to a nearby Starbucks. When they left the coffee shop, three security guards stopped them. According to the police report, mall security asked a family at Starbucks what Parsa had been talking about with them, and the family members said: religion. The guards told Parsa the mall is private property and told him to leave. Parsa said he had a right to be there. The guards said Parsa remarked, “It’s a free country,” and threatened to sue the mall. Two more guards arrived.

Flores says “the guards bullied us and tried to intimidate us.” He watched them force Parsa’s hands behind his back and handcuff him. Two guards escorted Flores and his son out of the mall. Other guards brought Parsa to a basement holding area. Parsa says they kept him tied to a chair for more than three hours, not allowing him food, drink, or a phone. Police then arrived and charged him with criminal trespass. He bailed himself out around 2 a.m.

Anthony Bushnell, Parsa’s attorney, says mall security guards singled out Parsa for discussing religion: Such discrimination violates public accommodation laws and the First Amendment. Parsa and his advisors decided not to keep quiet about the arrest: He told his story to Christian publications and on Christian radio.

Last month Mike Hartley, deputy chief of Bloomington police, told me “Parsa was approaching people to talk about his religion, forcing dialogue, and those people complained.” He said Parsa would not stop and stated that this incident is no different than if Parsa were preaching on a megaphone in a private space.

The case was scheduled to go to trial on April 29, but on March 7 Bloomington officials came to their senses and dropped the charges. It’s not really a victory for religious liberty: The court documents say Parsa may not go to the mall for a probationary period of one year, and Parsa may pursue legal action against the mall. The question is still open: Can visitors to a mall discuss religion in a venue touting “America” in its name?

—Sharon Dierberger is a graduate of the World Journalism Institute’s mid-career course