Online Outrage After Man Dressed as Jesus Arrested in Philly

Jesus walked on (frozen) water in Philly Friday and was subsequently arrested. Then the internet went wild.

Michael Grant, known as “Philly Jesus,” is facing charges of disorderly conduct and failure to disperse after his arrest following a skate at Dilworth Plaza in Philadelphia. An online outcry followed the arrest, with supporters tweeting #FreePhillyJesus to express their support of Grant, who is often seen walking around Philly dressed as Jesus.

Philadelphia Police arrested Grant after he was seen taking a photo and accepting tips from bystanders, according to Philly.com.

The arrest prompted Philly Jesus supporters to flood the internet with expressions of his innocence.

@PPDCommish the people of this city are embarrassed and ashamed of your police force’s treatment of @phillyjesus. #FreePhillyJesus, Johnny Goodtimes tweeted.

#FreePhillyJesus you can’t just arrest Jesus, Twitter user Sadie said.

An online petition urging the charges to be dropped against Philly Jesus was created on Change.org.

According to his website, www.phillyjesus.com, Grant is a recovering addict who has found Jesus since becoming sober.

Growing up doing musical theatre prompted Grant’s decision to dress as Jesus. “When walking around in the streets of Center City Philadelphia everyday dressed like Jesus portraying him....obviously its a definite conversation starter. That’s why I wear it. Instead of me going up to people pushing the Gospel truth on them they naturally are drawn to me.”

Following his highly-publicized arrested, Grant hired Charles Gibbs, who the Philadelphia Tribune called a “lawyer for the high powered.”