The Fight for Equality: Dean Nelson on the Two-Tiered Justice System:

Justice isn’t blind anymore – it now looks at the group you belong to rather than the facts of your case. That’s what we’re exploring in our latest episode, as we celebrate a hard-won victory against this two-tiered justice system. We’re talking about a case that saw Black Lives Matter and pro-life activists treated differently outside a DC abortion clinic, with pro-life activists arrested for the simple act of writing ‘pre-born black lives matter’ in washable paint on the sidewalk. It’s a shocking reminder of how far we’ve strayed from the ideal of a justice system that is impartial to the identity of the plaintiff or defendant.

Joining us for this discussion is Dean Nelson, who shares valuable insights on this recent court decision. He delves into the implications of this ruling, which stands as a significant victory for freedom of speech and religious liberty. This case and its outcome encourage us to continue challenging the status quo, and Dean’s perspective helps us understand the potential implications for justice and freedom in our society. So, come and celebrate this monumental legal victory with us, and together let’s explore what it truly means to restore justice and equality.

Air Date: 09/12/2023

Guest: Rev. Dean Nelson

Transcription:

Rick Green: 

Welcome to the intersection of faith and the culture. It’s WallB uilders. We’re taking on the hot topics of the day from a difficult historical and constitutional perspective. That means when you listen to WallB uilders, you’re going to learn a little bit about history as applied to whatever the hot topic is. So when has it happened in the past? What can we learn from it? You’re going to learn constitutional, which means you’re going to get an education on the proper role of government and when an issue is being discussed, is it the proper area for the federal government to be involved, or the state government, or maybe it’s just a family issue or church issue? And then, of course, that biblical perspective. What did God give us in terms of instruction in the instruction manual, the ultimate instruction manual on that particular issue? So biblical, historical and constitutional perspective on the hot topics of the day. You can learn more at WallBuilders. com, where there’s tons of great material and opportunities for you to equip and inspire your family. Get folks educated so they can be better citizens. I’m Rick Green, America’s Constitution Coach and a former Texas legislator, and I’m here with David Barton and Tim Barton. David’s America’s Premier Historian and our founder at Wall Builders. Tim’s a national speaker and pastor and president of Wall Builders, and all three of us again, WallBuilders. com is the place to learn more. Alright, guys, later in the program our friend Dean Nelson will be with us. He’s part of this case out of DC and everybody knows we’ve been talking about the two-tiered justice system and how you’re treated different depending on the color of your skin, your religion, part of the country you’re from, your finances, your political persuasion, whatever it might be. That’s bad, that’s not biblical justice, that’s social justice and it’s really been taking hold over the last few years. So today is kind of like a Good News Friday program because we’re seeing a victory against having a two-tiered justice system. This case basically says hey, you’re supposed to treat people the same and in this particular case I like to call them, I had a caller one time say their Black Lives Maoist, they’re communists. They admit they’re communists. So it’s not Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Mafia. I used to say mafia, it’s Black Lives of Maoist. Anyway, they were treated different from some pro-life folks that were outside of an abortion clinic there in DC.

David Barton: 

You know looking at cases like this and we’re going to be talking about a court case today and talking to one of the plaintiffs in that court case. This goes back to the old school approach to how you do things and a lot of people may recall that outside many courthouses is a picture of Lady Justice and she’s holding a scale in her hand and many times she’s blindfolded and that’s because she’s not supposed to see who the plaintiff or defendant is. You don’t care who they are, you just do the right thing. You weigh the evidence. That’s that scale in your hand. The Bible talks about. You don’t use false weights and balances. You use equal justice and now the way it works is you got to raise that blindfolded to see now what group are you from? Oh, I’ve got to put more weight on this side of the scale and you look at groups and that’s the big progressive thing, is what group are you from? Some groups have more value than other groups and some groups are inherently bad. Some groups are inherently good. It’s not based on your behaviors, based on who you are. Things that you can’t control determines your worth and that’s a really bad philosophy. So back when Black Lives Matter was really really rampant three years or so ago, they were going through after George Floyd and they were tearing up things and destroying things and went major city after major city whether it was Portland or Seattle or Milwaukee, whether it was Madison, whether it was Chicago, everywhere. As they were doing this. Washington DC was one of those areas that had a lot of riots, a lot of defacing of property, and we at the time, kept track of all the statues that were being torn down. And you know they were claiming they were tearing down the statues of racists. Well, they also tore down the statues of Black civil rights leaders. How are they racist? How is Frederick Douglass racist? How was Ulysses S Grant, who led the Union in defeating the Confederacy, how was he a racist? And so it was just really clear that this is not about racism, this is about destruction of a system. And so, as they were going through destroying that, they were defacing lots of property materials they were damaging, tearing down statues, and in the midst of that, there were some Christian pro-life activists who said you know, we’re going to take some chalk and we’re going to write on a sidewalk outside of Planned Parenthood in Washington DC and we’re just going to say that pre-born Black lives matter, and so we’re just going to do that outside.

Tim Barton: 

Now are you saying, I think I heard you say chalk. They were going to write with chalk?

David Barton: 

Chalk is what the news reports reported in the court ruling that it was chalk.

Tim Barton: 

Now see, I mean right… So already to me, I’ve got to make a problem right, because if we’re talking about not defacing property and you’re going to use chalk. Chalk will be impossible to get rid of. Like this is worse than anything that possibly could have gone on before to use chalk. I’m offended, like on behalf of the city. I think this has to stop, don’t let… because I have kids and I have a two and a four year old and they use chalk and I’m like kids stop in the driveway with a chalk, like we can’t ever get this off. It’s chalk. So I already see why there’s a problem. I just want to clarify, right, we’re not talking about paint, spray paint, we’re talking about chalk. So I anticipate the problem coming. So I just wanted to clarify.

Rick Green: 

Hey, just for the record, when my grandkids chalk all over the sidewalk and the driveway and the porch at my house, I mean it lasts for at least, at least like six hours. I mean it’s just really really bad stuff Just totally defaces everything for about six hours, yep, and it’s actually great defacing because I love my grandkids drawings.

David Barton: 

And that’s exactly what happened with these folks at Planned Parenthood. They used chalk and they wrote a message that says pre-born Black lives matter. Well, guess what? They got arrested. The guys tearing down the statues, the guys defacing the World War II Memorial, the guys spray painting with permanent spray paint, they didn’t get arrested. The ones that got arrested were the ones, using chalk, that had a very positive at least from our perspective kind of message. They didn’t deface anything, it was all temporary and it’s only sidewalk, by the way. That is public and so that’s an expression. That’s not a permanent expression going to cause damage, but they got arrested. Well, fortunately, Dean Nelson, who’s with the Frederick Douglass Foundation, it was some of their kids, and I say kids, I say kids because anybody under my age is a kid, now, right? So there were some young people there who were part of protesting abortion and that’s how they did it and they got arrested. So Dean and his group said no, we’re not putting up with this, and they took it to federal court and federal court in Washington DC, things move up the ladder a little faster than they do elsewhere. Other places, you start with the federal district court, then you go to a federal court of appeals and then you might make the US Supreme Court. But since Washington DC is not a state, they don’t have that lower level kind of court. You start right on your way to the US Supreme Court. So when a decision is made in Washington DC, it goes quickly to the DC Court of Appeals, which goes directly to the US Supreme Court. So the DC Court of Appeals is really considered the highest court, right below the US Supreme Court. It’s stuff out of there that goes right in the court. That’s where federal laws, federal government etc., that’s how it gets to the Supreme Court usually is through that court. So what happened is the DC… the lower DC court ruled that no, the kids defaced that, you got to prosecute them even though they didn’t prosecute anybody else, that two-tiered justice system that selected prosecution. But the Court of Appeals came back and said no, no, this is not the way it happens. You have a First Amendment guaranteed right to express your thoughts and beliefs and you don’t do selective prosecution. You don’t arrest kids who use chalk and not arrest kids who use permanent spray paint and went around with permanent destruction. So it’s a great decision. And Dean Nelson we’ve had him on before, great guy, Frederick Douglass Foundation. This is really a really good win for free speech across the country.

Rick Green: 

Dean Nelson, our special guest. We’ll be right back on WallBuilders.

Tim Barton: 

This is Tim Barton from WallBuilders with another moment from American History. American Patriot Paul Revere wrote to alert Americans of the impending arrival of the British. But he also sought Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock to warn them that the British were seeking their execution. Adams and Hancock were staying with the Reverend Jonas Clark in Lexington. When they asked Pastor Clark if his church was ready for the approaching British, he replied, I’ve trained them for this very hour. They will fight and if need be, die under the shadow of the House of God. Later that morning, 70 men from his church faced several hundred British, in the first battle of the war for independence. As Pastor Clark affirmed, the militia that morning were the same who filled the pews of the church meeting house on the Sunday morning before. The American church was regularly at the forefront of the fight for liberty. For more information on this pastor and other colonial patriots, go to WallBuilders. com .

Rick Green: 

Welcome back to WallBuilders. Thanks for staying with us. Great to have Reverend Dean Nelson back with us from the Human Coalition, Dean, God bless you, brother. Thanks for some time today, man.

Dean Nelson: 

Amen, it’s so great to be with you guys. Thank you for all the support that you give all of the great organizations that I serve, whether it’s Human Coalition, Frederick Douglass Foundation, FRC, whatever. You guys do a great job. I appreciate it.

Rick Green: 

Well, we’re always talking about you too, man, especially Frederick Douglass Foundation. I love what you’re doing there, but obviously, Family Research Council, great friends of ours, and just so many different things going on and, you know, when you’re on the front lines all the time and you’re taking heat and you’re giving it back, it’s good to be able to lock shields and sharpen a little iron with our fellow warriors for Christ and warriors for liberty, so that’s what we love having you.

Dean Nelson: 

Thank you so much.

Rick Green: 

Well, a lot of times we see the negative stuff that’s going on, and one of the big negatives in the country is the two-tiered justice system where people are being treated different based on color of skin, religion, where you’re from, which political party you support, that sort of thing, which policies you support. Never a good thing to see that. We want biblical justice, that’s blind justice, equal justice, treating everybody the same. But, man, today we have some good news. There was actually a decision out of the federal court of appeals that said, yeah, that had been done and it shouldn’t be done. I mean, I sort of felt like the justice system was failing us the last few years, but this one looks like a good decision. We wanted to see what you thought about it.

Dean Nelson: 

Well, man, I will tell you that we believe that you’re right and with regard to particular religious liberty and some elements of free speech, we’ve actually seen that you know the courts, even if they might be liberal, like in the particular court that we were before, they’re actually siding with us on this. And, to be specific, we were glad to get the decision that came out of the DC Circuit Court that overturned a lower court, basically saying that our organization and Students for Life could not be discriminated against with our viewpoint. The background simply was we had our group and some members of Students for Life that appeared before a Planned Parenthood in Northwest DC, only two miles away from where, quote unquote, Black Lives Matter plaza is today. Right there today, in huge letters painted, you know, Black Lives Matter. So we’re in the same quadrant in Washington DC in Northwest DC, just two miles out. We were going to paint Black pre-born Lives Matter with washable paint and we were met that morning with the DC police. They said it is against the law and you cannot do that and if you do it you will be arrested.

Rick Green: 

I’m sure if they were stopping you guys, I’m sure it’s because you were probably, you know, breaking things, burning down buildings, you know throwing blood on people. Oh, no, wait, that’s not y’all. That was some… that was other groups out there. You got washable paint, basically chalk on the sidewalk, right, it’s going to go, easy to remove. But making a very clear…

Dean Nelson: 

Everything by the book. You know, we’ve done this in other cities successfully. We did it in Baltimore, successfully in Rochester, New York. But when Mayor Bowser in Washington DC heard that we were going to do it, she sent the officers there to meet us. And we had an event planned. So we did a program, you know, a rally in front of Planned Parenthood that day and we did a march afterwards. But what happened in the middle, two brave Students for Life, members said, hey look, we’re out here routinely and we write on the sidewalk with chalk and nobody has ever been bothered by it. So we’re going to do that in an act of civil disobedience today. And as those students wrote Black Preborn Lives Matter on the sidewalk in front of the Planned Parenthood, we watched them get arrested, put into the paddy wagon and sent to DC. They were released later on that day. But the fact that they were arrested by simply writing Black Preborn Lives Matter was outrageous. And we were happy last couple of weeks ago to get the affirmation from the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal on this, basically saying hey, constitutional law, you know, teaches 101 that the First Amendment forbids legislation that discriminates based on viewpoints, and they said that ours was a major victory. So and it was a 3-0 decision from that group of judges out of the DC circuit court that said you cannot do this. That court is not known for being a conservative bastion like you guys have down in Texas, but they did it and so we now have the opportunity to go forward to fully sue Mayor Bowser in Washington DC.

Rick Green: 

I love it. I love it. And if I remember right and I didn’t… To be transparent, I didn’t read the whole whole opinion, but the excerpts that I read said it essentially was the tone of saying hey, you got to treat everybody the same. You can’t have rules for one group that are different from rules for another group and you’re allowing them to. You’re treating them very different over here on this side of the street, where they’re painting with actual paint and all of these things, and then you’re treating this group different simply because of their, really in this case, political beliefs. And so that’s a good return to the principles that we actually want. I mean, this is what we fight for, to become a more perfect union is to make sure we’re all treated equally under the law. And I just got to compliment you, man. I mean I love… I think in a culture war like this, we have to fight smart. We’ve got to be, you know, we got to be pithy sometimes and we got to be able to get the message through the noise and all of that. And this was a very strategic, smart way to go with the Black Pre born Lives Matter and making this point of where, you know, I mean we could spend the whole program on, as we have in the past, talking about the number of black lives that are snuffed out before they even have a chance, and and just the assault on the entire community and how, you know, frankly, Planned Parenthood started for that purpose, and so that’s another topic we’ve covered it a million times but I mean, you guys, the way you countered that with this campaign, I just thought was cool, I thought it was brilliant and I think the more we can do it the better. And, frankly, you know what the enemy means for evil, God turns to good, and that’s exactly what’s happening here, where they shut you guys down that day, it’s now making a bigger point for the whole nation. I think that’s a great victory. Way to go, Dean.

Dean Nelson: 

Well, man, thank you so much, and I appreciate you guys and the tone that you take, really standing for biblical principle. We are a part of the conservative movement but in an hour where there’s a lot of vitriol and that you know kind of, I appreciate the high standard that you guys have for, you know, kind of rising above that and winsomely persuading, loving your enemy, that’s the type of thing that we need to do and that’s what we aim to do, both at Human Coalition, where we rescue, you know, children through service to women, and that’s what the Frederick Douglass Foundation and our allied organization, Douglass Leadership Institute, promotes. And, if you would allow me, I’d just love to highlight the fact that we have a conference…

Rick Green: 

I was actually going to ask you, I was going to say, hey man, we got a couple of minutes left. You’ve got to catch me up on what’s coming up next and what you guys have planned in the next few months. Go ahead.

Dean Nelson: 

So the biggest thing, man, November the 2nd, 3rd and 4th we’ll be doing our annual regional conference for the Douglass Leadership Institute and the Frederick Douglass Foundation, which will be just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, at the old Heritage PTO location which is now, you know, named Heritage and the Great Christian Retreat Center. So we’ll be doing it there. Some of your favorite, you know, African American and other Christian leaders, like Bob Woodson from the Woodson Center, who’s an outspoken advocate for a long time, Bob is…

Rick Green: 

Man, I learn every time I watch him on an interview. It’s just, oh, I love that guy. Go ahead.

Dean Nelson: 

Oh yeah, and then we have some other emerging… You know we have a strategic partnership with the Church of God and Christ and some of their most strongest pro-life voices, Bishop Vincent Matthews and Bishop Patrick Wooden. You know my mentor, you know Bishop Wellington Boone will be there. We’ve got… haven’t quite gotten the confirmation for Franklin Graham, but it’s in his back yard. I’ve talked to his chief of staff. They think that he can be able to do it. So if people want to visit DLinstitute. org, that’s DLinstitute. org . You can get all of the information on this. It’ll be a great opportunity to hear great voices, whether they’re pro-life doctors, pro-life preachers or pro-life attorneys, elected officials, where we basically gather their network, and to find out how we can effectively together work in this movement to make a difference for God and to change the culture.

Rick Green: 

Amen, Amen. DLInstitute. org that’s the Douglas Leadership Institute folks, and I guess they can register there at the website? get more information?

Dean Nelson: 

Absolutely. Learn all of the information, register right there at the site and see the guests that will be there. But this is our third time doing it. It’s grown, had a few hundred people that there last year and hope to expand it this year. But it is a great, great gathering. It’s a spiritual thing more than it is a political thing. But we know that our ministry is to every area, as the Word of God says. God owns, what the Earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, and made it… So God owns it all and we want to be able to have representatives in every sphere of our culture, making a difference for Jesus Christ.

Rick Green: 

I love it. Psalm 24:1 right there, man. You know that’s when people tell me oh, you can’t get in… Oh, don’t go into business or politics, nasty stuff over there. Wait a minute. The Earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. Only reason we don’t see his principles there is because we’re not taking them there, and that’s what you guys are doing. Dean, I’ve done enough events like this to know, even for people that can’t come to the event, donations definitely helped. It cost a lot to put these kind of things on, man. I can’t believe we got to pay these days just to provide lunch to people. It’s crazy, but anyway, they can donate at the website as well, and that will help to allow for more folks to come and the training you’re doing with young people as well. I mean all of that stuff. Just appreciate what you’re doing, man. I want to encourage people to lock shields with you and come alongside. DLInstitute. org , we’ll have links today at WallBuildersLive. com to make it easy for you and make sure you become a part of that. Douglas Leadership Institute is what you’re supporting when you do that. Dean, God bless you, man. Let’s get you back again soon. Keep up the great work.

Dean Nelson: 

Brother, thank you guys so much for all that you do and always happy to be on. Thank you.

Rick Green: 

Look forward to seeing you soon. Stay with us folks. We’ll be right back with David and Tim Barton.

Tim Barton: 

Hey guys, we want to let you know about a new resource we have at WallBuilders called the American Story. For so many years, people have asked us to do a history book to help tell more of the story that’s just not known or not told today. And, we would say, very providentially, in the midst of all of the new attacks coming out against America, whether it be from things like the 1619 Project that say America is evil and everything in America was built off slavery, which is certainly not true or things like even the Black Lives Matter movement, the organization itself, not the statement Black Lives Matter, but the organization that says we’re against everything that America was built on and this is part of the Marxist ideology. There’s so many things attacking America. Well, is America worth defending? What is a true story of America? We actually have written and told that story, starting with Christopher Columbus, going roughly through Abraham Lincoln. We tell the story of America not as a story of a perfect nation or a perfect people, but the story of how God used these imperfect people and did great things through this nation. It’s a story you want to check out WallBuilders. com , The American Story.

Rick Green: 

We’re back here on WallBuilders. Thanks for staying with us. Thanks to Dean Nelson for joining us, as well. David and Tim, you know this is the solution to the two-tiered justice system. You’ve got to have some legal victories like this to remind people that we’re going to treat people the same in this country. Every time we talk about the judicial system or any of these fights, I always am reminded of that verse in Isaiah David, I remember when you talked about this in Constitution Alive, how it impacted me. But without restoring those judges and lawyers as at the first, we won’t be a righteous city. So these judicial victories are absolutely necessary for us once again being the city on a hill.

David Barton: 

You know, going back to the concept of Lady Justice being blindfolded, let’s say that Lady Justice was told that the law requires that you protect Black Lives Matter. Let’s say that that was the standard, even if that’s your standard, which is a wrong standard because it’s a two-tiered justice system, selective prosecution, even if that’s your standard, tell me how pre-born black lives matter is not a message that would fit within black lives matter. If black lives matter, black lives matter whether they’re pre-born, post-born or anything else. That should fit within the BLM message. But it didn’t, because it wasn’t Marxist, it wasn’t violent. I mean, the distinction here is the other guys were violent, so we’ll protect that, but you guys weren’t violent, so we’re not going to protect that and, as the DC Circuit Court pointed out, that’s a really, really bad position to take. So I like the fact that they rebuked the lower courts, they rebuked the police actually for what they were doing. They rebuked Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington DC. I don’t know necessarily how this changes quickly, but it’s got to change because people like Dean and those students stood up and said hey, we’re not going to be shoved aside on this. We have constitutional protections and we’re going to go to defend those constitutional protections. I go back to a statement John Jay made where that he said you have to know the Constitution so you can be prepared to defend and assert it. And that’s what they did. They defended and asserted the first amendment right of free speech, which is a really good victory.

Tim Barton: 

Well, one of the things our friend Kelly Shackleford has told us many times is that every time they’re able to find somebody willing to stand up for religious liberty, for the Constitution, that like from the First Liberty perspective they’re able to win these cases, the bigger they’re having a hard time at times finding people willing to stand up and defend religious liberty, to defend the Bill of Rights, to defend the Constitution, when you have to face the real-life consequences that you might get arrested, you might go to jail for the afternoon, for the evening, but when you have students that have the courage to stand up, it’s so encouraging. One of the verses that we’ve talked about before in this program, we talk about it a lot in some of our presentations, in Revelation 21:8, when it goes to the list of everybody that’s going to have their place in the lake of fire or the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, that the second death, the very first group listed, are the cowardly, the fearful, the people who know the right thing to do but don’t have the courage to stand up and do it. And so, man, extra kudos to these students for having the courage to do the right thing, knowing there was going to be consequences and because they had the courage to stand up and do the right thing, now there is a victory that the rest of us get to enjoy.

Rick Green: 

Alright, folks, if you want to learn more about how to restore that two-tiered… get rid of the two-tiered justice system and restore Biblical justice, you got to know the Constitution, so make sure that you’re studying. What a great time to do it. We got Constitution Day coming up this weekend, on the 17th, so make sure that you’re studying the Constitution yourself. You can do that with one of our many Constitution classes Constitution Alive or Biblical Citizenship or Constitutional Defense to your family and freedom. We’ve also got our Foundations of Freedom series, lots of ways you can do that all available right there at WallBuilders. com . And then, of course, we encourage you to host a Constitution class in your living room or at your church. Biblical Citizenship in Modern America is the one most people are doing now. It’s a great way to get people together and study these things. And then, you know, hop in the car this weekend, come on out to Fredericksburg, Texas. We’re going to have this big party on September 17th chance for you to celebrate the Constitution, celebrate the birthday of the Constitution right there in Fredericksburg Texas, and then stay over and do a Constitutional Defense course where you can visit the Patriot Academy campus. So join us on Sunday, september 17th, at 6pm at Arch Ray Resort in Fredericksburg, Texas. Kirk Cameron will be there, Brad Stine, I’ll be there. It’ll be a great time. Trust me, you’re going to have a good time. Hop in the car and drive. I don’t care where you’re coming from, anywhere in the country. If you start on Saturday, you can be there by Sunday evening. We’d love to have you join us, alright, thanks so much for listening. You’ve been listening to WallBuilders.