A girl appeared to be sad and surprised when a policeman told her she would be arrested for larceny because she had stolen a sign from pro-life activists.
The exchange, which occurred in April at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus, was captured in a video by pro-life group Created Equal. The video has received hundreds of thousands of views since it was published to YouTube on May 14.
In the video the young woman, whose identity is unknown, snatched a sign from a pro-life activist, Austin Beigel, and walked away with it. The sign read, “Warning: Abortion Victim Photos Ahead.”
She was later shocked when she found out she would be arrested for stealing the sign, which belonged to members of Created Equal.
President of the pro-life group Mark Harrington told Fox News that students need to be taught that disagreeing with someone doesn’t give them the right to break the law.
“College students who interfere with our First Amendment rights by assaulting us or stealing our signs are not the victims,” Harrington said. “Universities are failing to educate students on the basic American ideal of freedom of speech.”
What Happened?
In the video Beigel, whose sign was snatched, followed the young woman and told her, “Ma’am, don’t steal the sign, you can’t steal the sign. You’re on camera stealing the sign. You’re committing theft right now.”
“Officer, she’s stealing the sign,” Beigel called out while following the young woman.
Shortly after, a police officer approached the young woman and asked, “Did you steal the sign?”
“I just moved it,” she said, while leaning on the sign against a railing where she was stopped.
“Well, you took it,” the police officer said. He asked why.
“Because this restricts women’s rights,” she said while tapping on the sign. “He’s promoting lies on college campus.”
She moved away from the sign after the policeman told her to do so.
“I can’t believe y’all protect them,” she said, and proceeded to move away, before the policeman quickly stops her.
“Nope. You’re not going anywhere,” the officer said, indicating that she was being detained.
“Detained for what?” she asked, sounding confused.
“Um, for larceny. You stole his sign,” the police officer said.
“He has it back! I moved it fifty yards,” she responded.
“I don’t care what the circumstance is,” the policeman said.
The policeman said to the girl that, while she may not agree with the message of the pro-life activists, “You don’t have a right to take someone’s property.”
He then asked for the girl’s ID, to which she asked, “Am I being arrested right now?”
After she surrendered her ID, she pointed to the pro-life activists and said to the officer, “I cannot believe these are the people who you protect.”
He clarified that he had to enforce the law.
“Do you see us being subjected to this [expletive]?” the girl asked.
The police officer explained to the girl that the pro-life activists have a right to be there and that it is a public area.
“If you don’t like their speech you can go away,” the police officer said. “You don’t have to watch it, you don’t have to be here—“
“They’re here because they want us to watch them,” the girl interjected.
“Okay, but you can ignore them. If you ignore them that takes away their power, it’s that simple, okay?” the officer responded.
“It doesn’t matter how much you ignore them, they’re gonna come back. They’re gonna come back again and this is why women have such a problem getting abortions in North Carolina,” the girl responded, appearing quite moved. “And y’all just let them get away with this [expletive].”
The policeman then asked the girl to turn around and put her hands behind her back, saying “You’re under arrest for larceny.”
“I cannot believe this is happening,” the girl responded while appearing shocked. “Is there something else that I can do?”
“No, I just told you that you’re under arrest. I cannot un-arrest you. The judicial system must do that,” he explained.
The video later shows the girl walking away, handcuffed.
Created Equal is a pro-life group that uses a traveling photo exhibition to communicate their message.
“For years, we have documented violence against young members of our team. But perhaps even more shocking than violent outbursts is the incredulity some perpetrators show when held accountable,” the organization said, WND reported.
According to the website, Mark Harrington, president of the group, said students “being groomed on college campuses to be leaders, writers, and thinkers of the Left are increasing in censorship and violence against those with whom they disagree.”
“Their surprise when held accountable indicates college campuses have become safe spaces for pro-abortion violence. Students at UNC and campuses like it are in dire need of remedial First Amendment training,” he added.
Harrington told Fox News that the young woman’s behavior is similar to an earlier episode this month, when Democratic Pennsylvania State Rep. Brian Sims filmed and posted a video of himself confronting and repeatedly taunting an elderly pro-life woman for nearly 9 minutes.
