Anti-Muslim Speech Triggers STLCC Probe of Campus Police Officer

An evangelist loudly preaching on the campus of St. Louis Community College-Meramec last week made hateful claims about Muslims — but it's the response by a campus police officer that has now triggered an investigation by the college.

In a livestream later captured for posterity on YouTube, the street preacher, reportedly with a group called Kingdom Reconcilers, shouted that students should prepare for hell's "darkness and fire."

"Many of you on this campus think your way is OK," the preacher lectured. "The Bible says that there's a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. ... That means if you are a liar, a person who has sex outside of marriage, or a porno watcher or a Hindu or a Muslim, yes, you are damned to hell!" The offensive rhetoric only continued from there.

Unfortunately for St. Louis Community College, public speakers do have broad First Amendment rights on college campuses. As the ACLU explains, even "offensive or bigoted speech" is protected as long as it doesn't cross the line into targeted harassment or threats. Universities tend to be well-versed in the fact that they can't just shut down local crank evangelists haranguing the students walking by, even when they come with a microphone.

What their employees say, however, is a different story. And students on the Meramec campus say that two campus police officers made a bad situation worse.

A Muslim student explained what happened in a statement he published on Instagram. He says he complained to a campus police officer, only to be told, "If you don't like it, go somewhere else." The Muslim student asked what he meant by that. That's when the officer reportedly responded, "If you don't like it, go back to your home country." When the student sought out another officer, seeking his involvement, he wrote that the officer said, "He can say whatever the fuck he wants."

In a statement, St. Louis Community College said it was investigating one of the officers' behavior. Their statement said this: "St. Louis Community College is committed to creating a culture of care and respect for our students, faculty and staff. We are aware of the allegations regarding an interaction with an STLCC police officer and our students. This occurred when an individual purporting to be a member of a religious organization visited the campus to exercise their free speech rights.

"While the College recognizes and respects individuals’ rights to express themselves as guaranteed by the First Amendment and the Campus Free Expression Act in Missouri, the College does not condone harassing or discriminatory behavior by members of the public, students, or College employees.

"STLCC HR is actively investigating the alleged misconduct by the campus police officer. We continue to support members of our College community who have been impacted and will connect them with appropriate campus support services."

Other students are now calling for action.

"Yea you better fire these police officers, shame on you if you don’t," one wrote on Instagram. Added another, "Didn’t see it happen fully, but can attest I saw the aftermath. Someone asked him 'Did you just tell them to go back to their country?' And the cop vaguely nodded. So can attest that this did happen. Horrible. He should not be employed if he can’t respect the student body."

You can see more than an hour of students responding to the speakers' claims in the video below. Warning: Whether you're Muslim, Hindu or just an agnostic college student, there's a whole lot to take offense to in his remarks.


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