90-Year-Old Florida Man Arrested for Feeding Homeless

Update: Check out this story for information about Arnold Abbott’s second arrest.

Earlier:

Feeding the homeless in Fort Lauderdale can get you arrested.

That was the lesson Arnold Abbott, 90, and two local pastors learned Sunday after feeding homeless people in public. The act violated a city ordinance that bans public food sharing. The law went into effect last Friday, Local 10 reported.

Abbott is the founder of Love Thy Neighbor, a local nonprofit that helps the homeless. He’d only handed out a few of the 300 meals he had prepared to give to the homeless in the city’s Stranahan Park when police told him to stop, or else, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Abbott who fought the city’s 1999 ban on feeding the homeless on Fort Lauderdale Beach and won said he anticipated the police action.

“As contemplated on Sunday, I was arrested for feeding the homeless and received a citation to appear in court,” Abbott wrote on his public Facebook profile. “However, only 4 people were fed before an officer told me to, ‘Drop that plate immediately!’ As though it were a weapon I was holding, and to go with him to the police car.”

Abbott was eventually allowed to load up his food and move the operation to a church driveway.

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The new law was approved by the Fort Lauderdale City Commission Oct. 22. It’s meant to crack down on the city’s downtown homeless population, the Sentinel reported.

Abbott, however, says he intends to fight the law and plans on reminding the city about his previous legal victory.

“On Wednesday at 5:30 we will feed on the beach,” he wrote on Facebook. “When confronted by the police, which I expect will happen, I will present them with a copy of the court order of 1999 which allowed us to feed on the beach, without interference from the city.”

Even so, he’s expecting trouble.

“It is my hope that they will honor that agreement but it is possible that they won’t, alluding to the new agreement which scrapped the old one, and I could be arrested again.”

Abbott is also bracing for another legal battle, Click Orlando reported.

“I’m going to have to go to court again to sue the city of Fort Lauderdale, the beautiful city,” he was quoted as saying.

Pastor Dwayne Black of The Sanctuary Church and Pastor Mark Sims of St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church were also arrested.

The three face up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine for violating the new city law.

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Photo Credit: Arnold Abbott/Facebook

See Also:

• Sarasota Plans to Bus the Homeless Out of Town
• World’s Largest Cuban Helps Feed Tampa’s Homeless