Arnold Abbott, a 90-year-old World War II veteran, was busted along with two ministers for serving food to the homeless in a Fort Lauderdale park.
“One of the police officers said, ‘Drop that plate right now,’ as if I were carrying a weapon,” Arnold told The Associated Press.
Arnold, who runs the non-profit Love Thy Neighbor in memory of his late wife, faces up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine for breaking the Florida city’s ordinance against feeding the homeless in public places. Since the ordinance went into effect last Friday, Arnold has received two citations. Following the first citation, he vowed to return with more food. When he did on Wednesday night, officers allowed him to serve the four-course meal to the gathered crowd before they issued him a second citation.
Mayor Jack Seiler said the city cannot discriminate when enforcing the ordinance, even though he thinks Arnold and pastors Dwayne Black and Mark Sims have good intentions.
“The parks have just been overrun and were inaccessible to locals and businesses,” Mayor Seiler said, adding the city is working with local charities to feed the homeless at indoor locations.
Stephen Colbert jokingly supported Mayor Seiler by praising him for bringing the “dangerous fugitive” to justice.
“I say that if the homeless want to eat, they should do it in the privacy of their own wherever those people live,” Stephen said. “And this monster cannot claim he did not know better. Because food is much worse than weapons in Florida. If George Zimmerman had fed a guy in a hoodie, he would be in jail.”
For his part, Arnold said he fought a similar ordinance 15 years ago and is ready to do the same this time around.
