Black woman harassed for sitting on a church’s lawn
The church claims that the incident was not handled in a way that is representative of the church or the school.
Alex Marshall-Brown, an actress and stunt performer, says she was harassed after sitting on the lawn of St. Paul’s First Lutheran Church.
A pair of security guards on bikes advised her that someone called to complain about her presence on the property and that if she didn’t leave, it was likely that the police would get involved.
Marshall-Brown stood her ground and didn’t bother leaving.
“I said that was an unusual choice considering I was a person sitting on grass,” Marshall-Brown said. That’s when she noticed a woman looking at her from a school window affiliated with the church.
Shortly after that, a woman came out of the school and checked the locks of the church. If that wasn’t enough, two men came out with no trespassing signs.
The incident was captured by Marshall-Brown through a Facebook live video. In the five-minute video, a man with a drill can be seen telling Marshall-Brown she’s on private property and that they’ve had “problems” with people in the past.
She presses him, asking if she poses a threat to them as they continue to put up the sign. “We have to treat everybody the same — all lives matter,” he says at one point.
“I said nothing about any lives, sir,” she responds.
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After the incident, St. Paul’s First Lutheran Church put out a statement on Facebook saying in part, “Marshall-Brown, who was sitting under a tree on church property, was asked to leave, as she was sitting on private property. After initial interaction with church personnel, Marshall-Brown started recording when the two men posted no trespassing signs near where she was sitting. It is the position of St. Paul’s First Lutheran Church and School that Marshall-Brown posed no risk or threat to the property and that this incident was not handled in a way representative of the church or the school.”
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