A man took a detour on his way to work to tear down several pro-life banners that he had seen hanging on an overpass in Columbus, Ohio. When one of the pro-life activists walked behind the vandal’s car to take down his license plate, the man reacted by disclosing his full name and encouraged the pro-life group to “come find” him.
Activists from the pro-life organization, Created Equal, were confronted over the summer by 31-year-old David Jarvis, who willingly identified himself after he tore down pro-life banners that the pro-life group had been displaying on an overpass in Columbus, Ohio.
Created Equal oftentimes displays images of aborted babies to raise awareness about the realities surrounding abortion.
“Come find me. David Jarvis,” said Jarvis after he tore the pro-life banners down, moments before getting into his car and driving away. The Created Equal team later called the police, who arrived at Jarvis’ place of employment where they found the aggressor in his office — fulfilling his request.
The June 23 incident, as well as Jarvis’ interaction with police — courtesy of the Columbus Police Department — was caught on video, and shared to social media by the pro-life organization.
Watch below:
“Put your hands on me and I’ll sue the fucking piss off you. Trust me,” said Jarvis to the pro-life activists, before tearing their banners down. “Fuck you — come find me. David Jarvis.”
Later in the video, two police officers can be seen arriving at Jarvis’ workplace to question him about his behavior.
“I saw some offensive imagery, and, uh, didn’t feel it was necessary for everyone on their way to work this morning to see,” explained Jarvis to the officers. “So, I pulled back up, and I pulled some signs down.”
“You know that they have a right to do that, right?” asked one of the officers.
“They do have a right,” conceded Jarvis. “I get it, yes. I can acknowledge that.”
“Okay, so, you know that what you did — lawfully — you know you had no legal grounds to do what you did, you understand that, right?”
“What — what did — what?” reacted Jarvis, seemingly taken aback at the suggestion that he may have broken a law.
Jarvis told the officers that while he knows what he did “wasn’t right,” he wasn’t aware that he had broken any laws. The officer then asked if Jarvis made any threats toward the pro-life activists.
“Yes, I said if you touch me, I’ll fucking sue the piss out of you,” said Jarvis, laughing. “I told them my name. I said, ‘come find me.'”
“I just don’t know what could possibly go into your head, thinking that was a good idea,” said a second officer. “Your personal opinions of abortion are yours, just like their personal opinions of abortion are theirs. They’re lawfully allowed to do that. They’ve been doing it for weeks, if not months.”
“What you did was wrong, legally wrong. You can’t do that. They’re lawfully protesting. That’s their right” the officer continued. “If they would have talked to you the way you talked to them — and threatened them? What would you have done?”
The officer then informed Jarvis that he could possibly be sued by the pro-life activists.
“Bring it. I don’t care,” reacted Jarvis.
“See, that’s that kind of attitude that got you where you’re at right now,” said the officer.
“I’m at my office,” quipped Jarvis.
The vandal is later seen standing outside with the officers, as they write him a ticket.
“Do they have to have a permit or anything to do that?” inquired Jarvis after receiving his ticket.
“No,” said the officer. “As long as they’re not obstructing traffic.”
“Okay, because I’m gonna be a pain in their ass,” affirmed Jarvis. “Because you can’t just hang signs without the DOT [Department of Transportation] approving them.”
“Well, they’re not in the street,” noted the officer.
Created Equal told Breitbart News in a statement that the organization is working with prosecutors to press charges against Jarvis.
“David Jarvis has been charged with criminal damage/endangering, a second-degree misdemeanor,” said Created Equal to Breitbart News, “Jarvis is surprisingly pleading ‘not guilty’ despite multiple videos showing evidence of his crime.”
“Pro-abortion activists are losing the argument, and instead of seeking debate they are escalating the violence on peaceful preborn defenders,” said Created Equal president Mark Harrington. “We will never cave to acts of violence or intimidation. We will return hate with love for mothers and their babies.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo and on Instagram.
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