Daniel Gowen, a street preacher from York County, believes the First Amendment has set him free.
Free of a potentially large fine under Lancaster's noise ordinance.
Gowen, of Delta, said he was in Penn Square "just preaching Bible verses about the salvation of Jesus Christ" when city police Officer Eric Lukacs cited him shortly after noon on May 24.
District Justice Janice Jimenez found Gowen not guilty Monday.
A criminal clerk in Jimenez's office, Liz Diaz, said she could not comment on the specifics of the case, but that Jimenez told her "they can't get cited for preaching in public."
Randall Wenger, Gowen's attorney at the Independence Law Center, said the city has an exemption in its noise ordinance that protects the First Amendment.
And he's grateful for that.
"Often times street evangelists end up being cited with (violating) noise ordinances that were very vague, and it basically shuts down their ability to send their message," Wenger said. "It's very gratifying that the district justice recognized that the noise ordinance should not apply to street preachers."
Wenger said Gowen faced a fine of between $150 and $1,000.
Lukacs could not be reached for comment.
Gowen said he has been arrested about 13 or 14 times over the last 20 years on similar charges.
Capt. Donald Palmer declined to comment on Gowen's case in particular, but did discuss the city's policy on street preachers.
Palmer said they don't generally run into problems unless they fail to acquire a noise variance from his office and a permit from the city.
Palmer said open-air preachers, as they're sometimes called, are generally asked to limit their messages to one intersection as opposed to an entire block. In a location such as Penn Square, they may be forced to focus on just one corner of the square (for example, just the area near Fulton Bank).
Gowen said he did not apply for a noise variance or a permit for the May incident. He believes he's protected by the First Amendment.
Staff writer Liz Navratil can be reached at lnavratil@LNPnews.com or 481-6014. 