California Pastor Cleared Of Anti-Muslim Hate Charges

In Palmdale, California, Pastor Audie Yancey, a retired U.S. Marine Corps veteran, was cleared of hate incident charges that had been filed against him before the Antelope Valley Human Relations Task Force. A Muslim cleric filed the charges after Yancey, at a Palmdale City Council meeting, while holding a copy of the Quran handed out 200 copies of a gospel tract that read: "Remember 9/11: In the name of Allah they brought destruction and death to thousands. In the name of Jesus Christ you can have eternal life." USA Religious News, reporting on the case yesterday, quoted Pacific Justice Institute president Brad Dacus who hailed the ruling, saying: "If we allow Islamic clerics to silence pastors and Christians in this country, then we have lost, without question, not only the war against terrorism but, even more importantly, the war against Christianity and religious freedom."