Police in Florida prevent radio employee from first amendment right to burn Koran, take book and lighter away. Where is the ACLU?

9/11/10, "Atlanta radio station Rock 100.5's plans to have one of their morning show characters Sebas burn a Quran in front of Dove World Outreach Center failed when

• Gainesville Police Officer Ryan McCazzio yanked the Islamic holy book
• and a lighter from his hands.

Sebas did not tell reporters he was working for a radio station. Instead, he said he was Sebastian Bagby, an engineer who had attended Georgia Tech.

"I was prepared to have a sympathy - a solidarity - burning," he said early in the afternoon.

Television, radio and print reporters had surrounded him at 6 p.m., the time he said he would burn the book. But McCazzio, dressed in his dark blue K-9 officer uniform, stepped forward and took three books from him, including Eat, Pray, Love and Twilight. McCazzio gave back the other two books.

"Well, crap, guys," Bagby told a horde of reporters afterwards.

Bagby said he spent $15 on the book at the Books-A-Million store on Northwest 13th Street in Gainesville.

When asked if he had read the Quran, he said he had read a chapter on women, saying

• they didn't have the same rights as men and weren't allowed to inherit as much money as men.

When told that was U.S. law until 1920,"...(see, America is just as bad, ed.)...

• (continuing): "he said he didn't agree with that either.

Bagby was indifferent to Muslims' threats to kill Americans if the book was burned.

"If there's violence perpetrated on others based on their religious beliefs,

• that's not our fault - it's theirs," he said.

When asked by The Gainesville Sun if he was Sebas and was earlier interviewing people for the radio station, he denied it. However, pictures of Sebas posted online are the man identifying himself as Sebastian Bagby.

• He was not arrested and walked away from the scene on foot."

9/11/10, from Gainesville Sun, Gainesville.com, "Police stop attempt by radioman to burn Quran at Dove World," by Kimberly C. Moore

#####

• WHERE IS THE ACLU?

Who will file suit or arrest the policeman for violating an American citizen's first amendment rights?

• Islam has taken over quite smoothly. Welcome to Sharia law. ed.

via RadioDailyNews

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