God's servant is exonerated! - Operation Rescue/Operation Save America

Occasionally, the Lord will surprise us with rare and precious experiences. Today was one of those days. Rev. Flip Benham went to court to face two trumped up charges, which stemmed from his leading a Roe vs. Wade rally back in January 22nd, 2010. The first count concerned the breaking of a sound ordinance and the second count levied against him was resisting arrest.

We asked you all to pray. The following report is sent to demonstrate how gloriously the Lord answered our prayers. First of all, a couple of weeks ago Operation Save America called for a week-long time of fasting and prayer. Many of you participated and we are grateful for the role you played in this victory.

Personally, I entered that time of consecration to the Lord with three specific prayer objectives. The first was to intercede on the behalf of our beleaguered nation. The second concerned preparing of the way of the Lord for our national event in Charlotte, NC, from July 17th-24th. And finally, I sought the Lord about some personal family needs. The evidence is mounting that the Lord took note and is beginning to answer these prayers with great specificity.

In regards to our personal needs, the Lord came through like a champ. He made a way for us to come to Charlotte, NC for such a time as this. In regards to the national event, my exact and constant prayers were, “Lord, let the defense of the powers of darkness and the enemies of the cross depart from them. Let there be no more spirit of rebellion left in them. May their hearts melt and may the mighty fear of God come upon their souls.”

We actually saw those prayers answered in the court room today by our very own eyes. Besides this, Chet Gallagher, our OSA leader in Las Vegas, Nevada, called Flip mere minutes before we entered the court room to encourage him. He spoke a word of Scripture to him from Nehemiah chapter six, which promised the enemies of the Lord would see the hand of God at work and they would become frightened and humiliated.

In the beginning of the trial the DA came out blazing with the testimony of the police. They went through their testimonies and at times gave conflicting reports. Peter Nicolson, Flip’s court appointed attorney, questioned them as to the nature of the complaints leveled against Flip. The truth came out that it just wasn’t the volume of the noise that was the source of the complaints. No, it was the content of the message. People were upset at the graphic signs, which reveal the horrible truth of what abortion does to an innocent baby.

The truth also came out that the police were aware that Flip had a sound permit before they came to investigate the complaints. Unfortunately, Flip did not have a copy available at the time so they proceeded to try and give him a citation, which led to his arrest. When he was handcuffed, a copy was provided and they still hauled him to jail.

As the trial progressed the judge asked some crucial questions. At that point, Flip’s attorney caught fire and the trial began to shift dramatically. Later, a video tape of Flip’s arrest was played before the judge. Her eyes got big at what she saw and heard. As the court room heard Flip preach on the video while being arrested, it was clear that he did not resist arrest. I bowed my head in the court room and wept.

Afterward, the judge challenged the DA as to the nature of these charges and their validity in Flip’s case. It was at this juncture; we literally saw and heard the wind get knocked out of their sails. There was no more spirit left in them. Their entire case and charges against Flip went flat. The judge then spoke and declared the wonderful verdict, not guilty on both charges.

We were ecstatic. This is not normal in most of our cases. It was at this point, I experienced another precious and rare moment. Rev. Flip Benham had tears of great joy in his eyes as His Lord vindicated and exonerated him. As the tears streamed down his cheek, he prayed for the lawyers who defended him. Though both were probably unbelievers, we are hoping that what happened in this court room today will eventually lead them to the saving grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

As it stands, one case is down, but there a few more to go. This victory clearly adds great ammunition to the lawsuit against the city of Charlotte for the constant harassment, censorship, and restrictions placed upon Rev. Flip Benham’s First Amendment rights. This case could overthrow this sound ordinance that has been used as a method of selective enforcement, which has nothing to do with volume, but everything to do with content of speech. Perhaps, a new birth of freedom is coming to the Queen City as the King is proclaimed in the public square.

Besides the lawsuit against Charlotte, there are also two other court trials on the dockets. One concerns a security guard at Latrobe abortion mill who assaulted Flip and the other concerns the aftermath of our leadership meeting this past February. Flip was charged with stalking and “disturbing tranquility.” These charges stem from exposing the works of darkness as we visited abortionist’s businesses and homes. Please continue to pray brethren. The national event hasn’t even begun and Heaven is coming down while all Hades is breaking loose. To God be the glory!