Controversial preacher Bradlee Dean has demanded a Florida high school that kicked him off campus on Wednesday allow him to return and speak at the school.
Dean, who last year sparked outrage after a controversial appearance at an Iowa high school, was invited by a student group to speak at an after-school meeting at Spanish River High School in Boca Raton, Fla. According to a lawyer representing Dean and his group, the school’s principal ordered Dean’s event shut down, citing concerns over Dean’s anti-gay stance. A school district spokesman was not available for comment.
The lawyer, Horatio Mihet of Liberty Counsel, wrote the school district on behalf of Dean and the student organization, the American Club, claiming that the decision to bar Dean’s appearance violated the Constitution.
“We see serious constitutional problems with the principal censoring religious and political expression simply because they are deemed ‘offensive,’ especially when there are no specific, articulable facts to support such an assertion,” he wrote. “Federal law, including the Constitution, protects the right of student clubs to present their ideas without fear of censorship because of disagreement with the content of the message.”
The letter threatened legal action against the school if it doesn’t reverse its decision and allow Dean to come back to campus.
In a statement, Dean said: “If standing up against those who perpetuate crimes against our posterity is wrong, then I am guilty as charged. America should pay careful attention to who is doing the discriminating, and who is abiding by the laws of our republic.”
In May 2011, Dean made national headlines after he delivered a speech on the Minnesota House floor questioning President Obama’s faith. Dean’s ministry, You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International, is based in Annandale, Minn.
Watch footage of Dean’s confrontation at the school:
Read the letter from Liberty Counsel:
