03-31-2010, 01:16 AM
FAITH UNDER FIRE
Postal worker threatens Christian with arrest
Post office backs down, allows man to pass out religious tracts
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Posted: March 03, 2010
10:50 pm Eastern
By Chelsea Schilling
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
A Christian man is now allowed to hand out religious tracts to passersby outside a Michigan post office after a postal worker initially threatened him with arrest if he did not immediately leave the area.
Michael Shanton peacefully distributed the religious leaflets to interested people from a sidewalk in front of the Farmington Hills, Mich., post office for about eight weeks in 2009, the Alliance Defense Fund reported.
"Shanton would sit on a bench and, as persons passed, he would ask them if they would like a religious tract," according to a letter to the U.S. postal service from ADF attorneys. "If they refused, Shanton simply let them go without following or harassing them."
The man never attempted to distribute the tracts inside the post office, solicit donations or ask for signatures on a petition. He simply handed tracts to people walking by.
On Sept. 24, 2009, a postal worker ordered Shanton to leave or he would be arrested. The worker said literature distribution is not allowed on federal property, according to ADF. Shanton immediately left the area for fear of arrest.
Shanton said he called the postmaster and was told he couldn't distribute literature in front of the post office because it violated the Postal Operations Manual. The local postal officials claimed the manual prohibited people from distributing a "pamphlet or flyer" that is not an official government document.
More on this Story
Postal worker threatens Christian with arrest
Post office backs down, allows man to pass out religious tracts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: March 03, 2010
10:50 pm Eastern
By Chelsea Schilling
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
A Christian man is now allowed to hand out religious tracts to passersby outside a Michigan post office after a postal worker initially threatened him with arrest if he did not immediately leave the area.
Michael Shanton peacefully distributed the religious leaflets to interested people from a sidewalk in front of the Farmington Hills, Mich., post office for about eight weeks in 2009, the Alliance Defense Fund reported.
"Shanton would sit on a bench and, as persons passed, he would ask them if they would like a religious tract," according to a letter to the U.S. postal service from ADF attorneys. "If they refused, Shanton simply let them go without following or harassing them."
The man never attempted to distribute the tracts inside the post office, solicit donations or ask for signatures on a petition. He simply handed tracts to people walking by.
On Sept. 24, 2009, a postal worker ordered Shanton to leave or he would be arrested. The worker said literature distribution is not allowed on federal property, according to ADF. Shanton immediately left the area for fear of arrest.
Shanton said he called the postmaster and was told he couldn't distribute literature in front of the post office because it violated the Postal Operations Manual. The local postal officials claimed the manual prohibited people from distributing a "pamphlet or flyer" that is not an official government document.