A Clinton County jury took less than an hour to issue its verdict against Mike Anderson of Clinton, who represented himself during the one-day trial at the Clinton County Administration Center.

Magistrate Bert Watson fined Anderson $100, plus court costs, for refusing to follow police orders to lower his voice Oct. 27 during Clinton’s annual Mardi Gras parade through downtown Clinton.

“I refuse to pay,” Anderson said after the trial, surrounded by family and friends. “I’m not going to pay a dime to a city that arrests a preacher for preaching the Gospel. I’ll sit in jail. I’ll rot.”

The judge said if Anderson fails to pay the fine within 60 days, he could be charged with contempt of court, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail or another fine.

Anderson was arrested after Clinton Police Officer Casey Newmarch saw him standing on one of the city’s decorative fountains at the corner of 5th Avenue South and South 3rd Street, shouting into a crowd waiting for the Halloween parade to pass by.

Newmarch testified that he asked Anderson to get off the fountain and told him to stop yelling. Anderson did step down, but refused to stop screaming into the crowd, telling people they must repent or go to hell.

Police Officer Wes Unke said he was working a block away when Newmarch called for assistance, and he began walking quickly toward the fountain area. Unke testified that as approached, he could hear Anderson shouting before he ever saw him.

Unke also saw people pointing toward Anderson, pulling their kids away from the scene.

“He kept interrupting Officer Newmarch, interrupting myself,” Unke said. “The more we tried to rationalize with him, the louder he became. He continued just screaming. He told us we were damned to hell.”

When Anderson was taken into custody, the crowd broke into applause.

Anderson asked the officers during trial what they are expected to do as police officers. Both said they are expected to keep the peace among people.

“So, if it’s in the public arena, it’s your job to make sure people don’t hear anything that offends them?” Anderson asked one of the officers. “If an adult is angered by certain speech, opinions, preaching, it’s your job to make sure they don’t have to hear it?”

Unke said Anderson crossed the line from free speech to disorderly conduct with his volume, language and the location of his message.

“I was sent out there by the Lord,” Anderson said.

Anderson is the same street preacher who stands in front of the Clinton County Courthouse, often holding signs that demand people repent to the Lord.