'Deeply concerning': Street preachers handcuffed, detained outside Dallas arena for violating noise ordinance
A Texas evangelist who was arrested while preaching the Gospel in downtown Dallas called the arrest “deeply concerning” and urged law enforcement to “respect” the U.S. Constitution.
Landon Thurman, founder of the Dallas-based ministry Testimonies of God, was conducting what he described as peaceful public evangelism outside American Airlines Center on Dec. 18 as fans arrived for a Dallas Mavericks' game against the Detroit Pistons.
As Thurman and other ministry associates preached "the power of God unto salvation” from Romans 1 as attendees walked by, Thurman said the incident began after one member, Will Dieterich, briefly stood on the edge of a planter area bordering the sidewalk, which authorities later claimed was arena property.
Police say off-duty officers approached the group at around 7:20 p.m. in response to a report of “a disturbance involving a loudspeaker in violation of the city's noise ordinance.” The officers then requested “the volume be lowered after a nearby resident raised concerns,” a Dallas police spokesman told The Christian Post.
Thurman, who in an interview with CP identified the officer as Dallas Police Lt. Jeremy Foy, said the officer arrived and instructed the group to leave the public sidewalk and cross the street — an order the preachers believed was unlawful.
"I verbally objected to that instruction while speaking with [Dieterich], stating that remaining on the public sidewalk was legal," said Thurman, who was then handcuffed along with Dieterich.
Thurman said he and Dieterich “were told repeatedly” that they would be jailed and held overnight, but no squad car or other police transport arrived on scene.
Video footage of the arrest shared on social media showed the arresting officer initially saying the two were being arrested for “interference with public duties” and ordering the cameraman to move away from the area as the two were placed in handcuffs and led to a nearby seating area.
One of the men in the video asks the officer, “So why am I being arrested, officer?”
“I told you to back off twice, and you didn’t do it,” the officer replied.
Police say that while no arrests were made, Thurman and Dieterich were “temporarily detained for officer safety,” but did not offer any additional details. The two were cited for a noise violation and given a criminal trespass warning “at the request of the property representative,” police said.
According to Thurman, officers released the two after approximately 30 minutes and issued Dieterich a citation for violating an “anti-noise ordinance” without specifying any ordinance number. Police also did not issue any formal arrest paperwork or a trespass notice, said Thurman.
After the incident, Testimonies of God shared the video on their social media channels. “We were arrested for preaching Christ on the public sidewalk, yet the Word of God was not hindered. Many souls heard,” the ministry wrote in a Dec. 21 post. “Many great Gospel conversations had, Bibles were given, and Christ was exalted.”
In response to the arrest, the Dallas Police Department issued a statement saying the department “remains committed to protecting First Amendment rights while enforcing applicable laws and ordinances.”
Police did not respond to a request from CP to confirm the officer’s identity as of Friday morning, but did say there would be forthcoming “updates concerning this case.”
After a video of the incident went viral, Republican Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison wrote on X that he plans on “demanding answers” from the Dallas Police Department, adding, “The [First Amendment] must not be violated in Texas.”
Described on its website as a “Reformed Baptist evangelistic ministry committed to the supremacy of Scripture and the advancement of Christ’s Gospel,” Testimonies of God’s stated mission is to “equip believers, proclaim the Gospel in public settings, and provide biblically grounded apologetics resources.”
While Thurman and his ministry associates have since returned to the American Airlines Center to continue street evangelism, he said the ministry has retained legal counsel, and they await further guidance from their attorneys.
Calling the experience of being detained by police “deeply concerning,” Thurman voiced his support for law enforcement while urging police to remember their oath to the U.S. Constitution.
"Our message is simple: respect the Constitution and the freedoms of speech and religion it guarantees,” he said, adding: “We are not agitators, protesters, or criminals — we are Christians peacefully proclaiming the Gospel, seeking the good of our communities. True transformation comes only by God’s grace, through the preaching of the Gospel. We desire cooperation, clarity and lawful engagement moving forward, not conflict."
