By Dylan Slusser / Editor’s Assistant

By Dylan Slusser / Editor’s Assistant

Paul Mitchell was arrested on  assault and battery charges on Sept. 21 at Riverside City College after he allegedly pushed Active Minds Club President Doug Figueroa.

Sign-toting self-proclaimed Christian, Mitchell, brought a message of hate to the RCC campus.

Tensions flared as he shouted at multitudes of students condemning them to hell.

RCC Police arrested Mitchell after he allegedly pushed Figueroa during a silent protest supporting awareness of mental health on campus.

“A student approached the man, the man pushed the student, and the student is now pressing charges against him for assault and battery,” said RCC Police Chief Jim Miyashiro.

Figueroa said he and a group of people were putting on a silent rally in front of the Martin Luther King, Jr. High Tech Center when Mitchell approached him and then pushed him.  

Figueroa then asked him to stop and was met with refusal which in turn was met by police action.

Figueroa is a staunch supporter of free speech but said that when it becomes violence it has gone too far.

“I don’t want people to think that he was arrested for free speech,” Figueroa said. “He crossed the line; we had to do the right thing.”

Though many students disagreed with Mitchell’s protest, his First Amendment rights were not violated. It was only after the alleged assault that he was arrested.   

Mitchell preached his message in vocal outbursts while he carried a sign which stated, “GO TO HELL! Hypocrite Christians, Lost Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and all other False Religions. Sodomites, Pornographers, Pedophiles, Fornicators, Cross-Dressers, Lesbians, Adulterers, Transvestites, Sluts, and all other Sex Perverts. Scoffers, The Prideful, Atheists, Agnostics, Idolaters, and all other Clueless Fools. Murderers, Baby killers, Liars, Thieves, Corrupt Politicians, and Covetous Moneygrubbers. Boozers, Dopers, Revelers, Mouthy Women, Girlie-Men, and all Sin loving Heathens. OR REPENT!”

Some students saw his message and disagreed with what he had written on it.  

 “It is disrespectful. I feel like he comes here on purpose to get a rise out of people. Let him without sin cast the first stone,” said RCC student Mona Ismail.

“I feel like when someone is preaching hate, it is necessary to protest their hate,” said RCC student Dylan Fultz.

Mitchell was booked and charged the same day.

Viewpoints Online will have more as the story develops.  

Additional reporting by Dora Yrigoyen and Nita Gandhi