A street preacher from Mississippi named Gabriel Olivier got busted for yelling at concertgoers outside an amphitheater after Brandon city officials pushed protesters way back from the venue, and the Supreme Court heard arguments about whether he can sue over the ordinance even though he had already got convicted and paid his fine. Olivier and his church crew would post up with bullhorns and graphic banners calling people whores and sissies at shows, which made the city create a protest zone 265 feet away from where crowds actually walked through.
The justices seemed willing to let him file a civil lawsuit to block future enforcement without overturning his criminal case, with both Clarence Thomas and Ketanji Brown Jackson suggesting it would be weird to ban him forever from challenging the law. His lawyers argue the federal courthouse should stay open to him since he genuinely wants to keep preaching at that spot, and his past arrest proves the city will come after him again if he tries.
The justices seemed willing to let him file a civil lawsuit to block future enforcement without overturning his criminal case, with both Clarence Thomas and Ketanji Brown Jackson suggesting it would be weird to ban him forever from challenging the law. His lawyers argue the federal courthouse should stay open to him since he genuinely wants to keep preaching at that spot, and his past arrest proves the city will come after him again if he tries.
