An Unjust Punishment for an Unrighteous Act

By: Lisa Van Houten

Shiloh Hendrix’s language was loathsome.  But should it be a crime?

Last week a Minnesota jury convicted Shiloh Hendrix of disorderly conduct for calling a black person a racial slur.  She has been sentenced to a stayed 90-day jail sentence, along with supervised probation, 200 hours of community service, and a $1,000 fine.

Here are the facts from the incident last year which led to the conviction.  While playing with her 18-month-old son at a Rochester, Minnesota playground, Shiloh Hendrix saw a 9-year-old Somali boy rifling through her diaper bag, take something, and run off. Hendrix, who is white, called the boy the n-word and chased after him to reclaim the stolen item. [It was later revealed that the boy is autistic.  His father, Shire Jimale, speaking through an interpreter testified that the boy wears a police-installed ankle monitor “because of his risk to wander off” and “does not follow any rules because he does not understand rules.”]

Immediately after this incident, another Somali man in the park, Sharmake Omar, began following and recording Hendrix as she carried her toddler away from the scene.  In his video-recording, Omar asked Hendrix if she called the boy the n-word. She cursed at Omar, said it was none of his business, flipped her middle finger at him, and continued to walk away.  Omar continued to follow her, repeatedly asking if she called the boy the n-word, and taunted her by saying, “Why don’t you have the [guts] (he used a more vulgar word) to say it right now again?”  She turned around and repeatedly called the man the n-word before continuing to walk away as Omar continued to follow, harassing and berating her.  He ended the recording by saying, “Ok, we’ll see what the internet has to say about you.”

Shiloh Hendrix was found not-guilty on the charge of “disorderly conduct” toward the child, but found guilty of “disorderly conduct” toward Omar, the Somali man who followed her and provoked her into further reaction.

There can be no moral defense for Hendrix’s reprehensible words, yet there must also be a recognition that the Constitution protects her right to say it.  Having the First Amendment right to free speech means that people have the right to say despicable and hurtful things.

As Christian commentator Allie Beth Stuckey stated: “The First Amendment doesn’t exist for polite words, for comfortable words, for non-controversial words.  You need no constitutional protection for being nice.  It exists precisely for the most offensive and vile speech.  There are limitations, yes, but this isn’t one of them.”

We do not have free speech if it only protects the speech with which we already agree.  The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that the First Amendment protects what might be considered “hate speech” – guaranteeing “freedom for the thought that we hate.”  Which is why, as nasty as her language was, Hendrix should not have been prosecuted and convicted.  When government begins treating unpopular speech as criminal conduct, it leads to tyrannical repression of free speech.  We only have to look to the UK and Europe to see evidence of that.

The Minnesota prosecutor tried an end-run around the First Amendment by charging Hendrix with disorderly conduct.  The problem is, Minnesota’s vague disorderly conduct law is an egregious violation of the First Amendment.  Minnesota claims that offensive words that “arouse alarm, anger, or resentment in others” are considered disorderly conduct.  In other words, basically any language that offends or causes anger in another person could be prosecuted as disorderly conduct.  In that case, Christians preaching the gospel or praying outside of an abortion facility could be charged with “disorderly conduct” if their words cause “anger or resentment” in another person.  This is the slippery path we’re on if we don’t defend free speech.

That’s why Hendrix’s constitutional rights should be defended, even as we condemn what she said.  Censorship does not stay confined to the silencing of just one target.  When the government gets to decide which words we’re allowed to say or which viewpoints we’re allowed to espouse, every person’s right to free speech is at risk.

Yet this is where the left’s “speech is violence” mantra leads: if words are considered “violence,” then censoring and punishing the speaker is seen as justified by the left.  Many Muslim countries have “blasphemy laws” against those who disparage Islam; in blue-state America, such “blasphemy laws” apply to the sacred cows of leftist ideology.  And leftist ideology was blatantly at play in the prosecution and trial of Hendrix.

The city prosecutor waited four months to bring charges against Hendrix – only after the video Omar posted online went viral.  The prosecutor stated: “(T)he City recognizes not only the significant attention and emotion surrounding this case, but also the complex and lasting impacts situations like this have on communities of color and our broader community.”  The “impact” of racist words is an unconstitutional reason to prosecute someone.  He is implicitly admitting that if the races were reversed and Hendrix were black and Omar and the child were white, he never would have prosecuted Hendrix.  (In all likelihood, he would have prosecuted Omar for harassment.)  Lady Justice is blindfolded for a reason.

In addition, the judge in the case – who has a long track record of letting convicted sex offenders off with light punishments and little to no jail time – instructed jurors to examine their own “implicit bias.”  (Speaking of letting sex offenders off, Sharmake Omar – the man who recorded Hendrix – was charged in 2022 for allegedly raping and sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl. The Olmsted County Attorney’s Office later dismissed the charges “in the interest of justice.”  According to court documents, the girl was kept in a trailer by Omar and another man for 24 hours and was repeatedly sexually assaulted by both men.)

And in Hendrix’s trial, her defense was not even allowed to question Omar – who reportedly was back in Somalia.  The 6^th Amendment gives the right to confront one’s accuser.

This is the type of injustice that will increasingly occur if we are ruled by the whims of those in authority rather than the rule of law under the U.S. Constitution.

George Washington warned that “religion and morality are indispensable supports” to political prosperity.  He understood that a free nation ultimately depends on the character of its people.  Only God’s Word can create virtue.  That applies to judges, prosecutors, and politicians; to immigrants we allow into our country; and to people like Shiloh Hendrix.  If morality grounded upon the truth of Scripture is abandoned, no constitution can preserve liberty.

Shiloh Hendrix didn’t commit a crime under the Constitution, but she did commit a sin under the Word of God.

As Christians, we can be faithful to the Constitution and point out that Hendrix’s right to freedom of speech was violated by her prosecution, but we cannot justify her sin.

Shiloh Hendrix received an unjust punishment for an unrighteous act.

She shouldn’t have been convicted in a court of law for her vile words; however, she will one day have to answer for them. The Bible says in Matthew 12:36-37: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Sadly, many conservative Christians have been quick to defend Hendrix, but have said little to nothing about protecting the worth and dignity of the autistic child she screamed at, hurling racist slurs.  We must check our hearts that we don’t become so focused on the battle for the “soul” of America, that we lose sight of the souls of every single image-bearer of God – from the 9-year-old boy, to Omar and Hendrix.

 

 

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