Defiant Christian pastor Terry Jones pledged to hold a rally next Friday in front city hall here, to protest a court order barring him from demonstrating in front of the nation’s largest mosque.
Mr. Jones and his associate Wayne Sapp from the Gainesville, Fla. Dove World Outreach Center were briefly jailed Friday night after refusing to pay bond. A six-person jury ruled that the two men were likely to breach the peace by proceeding with the demonstration despite being denied a permit.
Judge Mark Somers set the bond at $1 on the condition the two men not go to the Islamic Center of America for three years. Mr. Jones said they paid the bond under protest.
“The City of Dearborn used the court as an instrument to prevent our protest from taking place today as scheduled, and has now violated our civil liberties,” Mr. Jones said in a statement issued on Friday.
Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly said the city had always encouraged Mr. Jones to protest in the city’s permit-free zones, including at city hall. “That’s where we were hoping they did it the first time,” Mr. O’Reilly said in an interview. “We are not trying to silence anybody. We want to make sure no one gets hurt and everyone’s rights are respected.”
Though the statement included a vow to protest in front of the mosque next Friday, Mr. Sapp said in an interview on Saturday that their plans had changed. They now intend to hold a demonstration in front of city hall.
“Right now our direct confrontation is with the city of Dearborn first and foremost,” said Mr. Sapp.
He said he and Mr. Jones were en route back to Gainesville but that they planned to return to Dearborn next week. They are seeking legal representation to challenge Friday’s court order, he said.
“We will bring some action against the city of Dearborn,” said Mr. Sapp. “We will have this whole thing overturned.” And, he added, if they succeed, they then plan to schedule a rally in front of the Islamic center.
The original demonstration had been scheduled for Friday evening by Mr. Jones, who rose to international attention for burning the Quran after holding a mock trial in March. The incident incited riots in Afghanistan, including a deadly attack on a United Nations building there.
Prosecutors argued that the pastor intended to go ahead with his protest despite being denied a city permit to do so at the mosque site, and that the protest could draw thousands of counter-demonstrators and snarl traffic during Good Friday services.
To protest in the area in front of the mosque requires a permit because there is limited public space and parking, according to city officials. The city of Dearborn allows protests on city sidewalks and at four permit-free zones.
If the two men go to the mosque, they could be arrested, based on the terms of the order.