Imprisoned Pro-Life Pastor Preaches the Gospel Behind Bars

OAKLAND, CA - A Baptist pastor is now behind bars for holding a poster that read, “Jesus loves you and your baby. Let us help you,” outside an Oakland abortion clinic. His wife claims he was targeted because he’s a black man who dared to take a stand against race-based abortion.

Reverend Walter B. Hoye II of the Progressive Missionary Baptist Church of Berkeley, California, filed a lawsuit in US District Court, arguing an Oakland city ordinance banning counselors or protesters from approaching within eight feet of people entering an abortion clinic is a violation of constitutional free speech rights.

Twelve days later, Hoye was arrested for allegedly violating the law he was seeking to overturn.
Hoye was charged with “unlawful approach” and “harassment.”

Several videos show the pastor standing outside Oakland’s Family Planning Specialists Medical Group at 200 Webster Street with his “Jesus loves you” poster while clinic employees in orange vests, or “escorts,” follow him and try to block his message with blank cards.

WorldNetDaily reports that Walter’s wife, Lori, says her husband never approached the escorts during his peaceful walk down the sidewalk. “Every single minute that he is on the sidewalk is recorded,” she said. “He did not violate the ordinance. If anything, he was being mugged while he was on the sidewalk. They even blocked him when no one was around.”

She said the people in the orange vests enjoy full First Amendment rights in front of the clinic.
“They can literally walk up to people, lock arms with them, talk to them, hand them pieces of paper, and they’re free,” she said. “While white pro-lifers have protested there for more than a decade, Walter’s presence quickly became a problem for the clinic - because of his skin color.

In the 90 minutes we were out there, 25 women went into that clinic and 23 of them were black,” she said. “It’s about keeping a black face off the sidewalk so the clinic can continue to target black people and not have any interference.”

When the clinic was contacted to ask if it had targeted Walter because he is a black man with a pro-life message, the operator quickly transferred the call, and a representative did not return messages.

Lori said a peaceful white female protester accompanied Walter on the day he was arrested, but he was the only person the clinic personnel cared about.

Walter, his wife said, is a soft-spoken minister who is sweet and personable. She said his message does not fall on deaf ears in a community where the majority of the population is black.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 37 percent of pregnancies among black women end in abortion, while 12 percent of pregnant non-Hispanic white women and 19 percent of Hispanic women choose to abort their unborn babies.

Many would-be parents are drawn to Walter Hoye’s peaceful message of love and hope when faced with a monumental life decision, and they sometimes choose to forgo abortions, allowing their babies to live.

“I saw one gentleman - and the men kind of feel helpless - he came out of the clinic and walked up to my husband and said ‘You need a bigger sign because your message really needs to get out.’ He is effective,” his wife said. “In fact, he’s so effective that they needed an ordinance to get him off the sidewalk.”

The clinic lists a fee schedule for abortions performed on babies up to 21 weeks and charges between $400 and $1,150 per procedure. Lori said the clinic performs at least 100 abortions every week, and Tuesday is its biggest day.

“It has 40 to 50 people coming in there on Tuesday,” she said. “So, Walter being there is a nick in their bank account. They are making $60,000 to $150,000 a week on predominantly Medicaid abortions right there in the city of Oakland.”

Court proceedings discredited clinic employee testimony when hidden camera footage showed their accusations to be highly suspect. The escorts in the case even admitted that Hoye neither threatened nor physically intimidated them.

Dana Cody, executive director of Life Legal Defense Foundation, a non-profit organization composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens committed to the sanctity of human life, said the video tape evidence should have clearly exonerated Hoye of the charges against him.
“I have never met a man whose character and demeanor is so perfect for him to stand out in front of these clinics,” Cody said. “He is the consummate gentleman. He’s not intimidating at all. In fact, on the record there’s witness testimony that part of the reason they’re afraid of him is that he is so ‘nice.’ “The man, he will tell you, ‘I am an ambassador for Christ,’” Cody said.

Nonetheless, Walter was found guilty. Judge Stuart Hing sentenced him to 30 days in jail for sharing his message. He has been ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and a $130 restitution fee. Walter will also face three years of probation with orders to stay 100 feet away from Oakland abortion clinics.

Dozens in the African-American and pro-life communities from around the nation who came out in support of Pastor Hoye were outraged by the sentence. The consensus of these leaders is that it was a travesty that Pastor Hoye was found guilty in the first place for standing in the gap for black children targeted by the abortion industry.

“It is absolutely incredible that in America an individual can be sentenced to jail for engaging in peaceful free speech activity on a public sidewalk,” remarked Allison Aranda, Staff Counsel for Life Legal Defense Foundation. Aranda further stated, “Rev. Hoye is being singled out for particularly harsh punishment because he refused to agree not to offer help to women considering abortion. Where is the justice in that?”

LLDF Legal Director Catherine Short and attorney Mike Millen, who also represented Rev. Hoye at trial, are currently challenging the constitutionality of the ordinance on Hoye’s behalf in federal court. They are hopeful the ordinance will be struck down and Pastor Walter Hoye vindicated.

“We live in America,” Cody said. “The fact that this can happen because someone has the audacity to stand out on the street and try to help women is just unbelievable to me.”

Meanwhile, more than 800 people have joined at least three Facebook groups to support and pray for Hoye while he serves time in jail.

As always, God has a plan, Walter’s wife said.
“He’s holding up pretty well. For where he is, he’s in pretty good spirits and God is using him even in jail. He’s been able to talk to the men in there about the issue of abortion.”

So Walter continues to do what he does best, said Lori, reaching out to people with the message of God’s love, even while he remains behind bars.
“He said that the men are listening, and he’s been able to talk to them about the Bible,” Lori said. “He even led one young man to Christ yesterday. God is using a terrible thing for His good.”

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