Shocking Arrest of Preacher Sparks Outcry Outside Ohio Abortion Facility
A pro-life man was detained outside an abortion clinic in Ohio after he shared the gospel and offered to adopt babies.
Zack Knotts was arrested on Dec. 28 and received a misdemeanor. The citation, obtained by The Daily Signal, accuses Knotts of “knowingly generat[ing] unreasonable noise by means of a megaphone, causing inconvenience and alarm to passersby at the women’s clinic.”
Speaking to the outlet, Knotts said, “I will preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I will warn people of the wrath to come if they don’t repent. But I always say that there’s Good News. There’s hope for you in Christ.”
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“We have free resources available,” he stated. “We contacted an adoption agency, a couple of pregnancy resource centers, and got some of their information. We have folders with literally everything they could need if they were able to come talk to us, and we hold it up in the air.”
Knotts explained that he called the police department before going to the clinic. His wife, Lindsay, told the outlet her husband’s “first emotion was just pure shock” after being approached by police outside the facility. “He was standing there on the public sidewalk, pleading with these escorts, with the women, telling them about the Good News of the gospel, that they can be forgiven, that we have free resources for them,” she said.
Those holding pro-life views in both the U.S. and U.K. have faced prison sentences for their beliefs.
In July, pro-life activist Bevelyn Beatty Williams was sentenced to three years and five months in prison after violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. Williams protested outside a New York City abortion clinic in 2020.
According to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, the pro-life activist “repeatedly intimidated and interfered with individuals seeking and providing critical reproductive health services. She did so by physically blocking access to clinics, threatening staff, and by force.”
In October, British army veteran Adam Smith-Connor was convicted for silently praying outside an abortion clinic, being found guilty of violating a Public Spaces Protection Order. The court ruled that his silent prayer was enough to show “disapproval of abortion.”
This article originally appeared on American Faith, and is reposted with permission.
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