Escalation and Retaliation: DA Has Christian Rearrested In Blatant Abuse of Power for Simply Helping Church Members Carry a Cross

We’ve told you about our case involving Carter Phillips and his wife, and how, despite cooperating with police and never resisting, he was arrested and faced trial simply for waiting in his car for his father-in-law, Jesse Boyd, who was carrying a cross as an expression of his faith. The story should have ended long ago, with the ACLJ representing him and preparing for a trial to prove his innocence. Instead, last week, police arrived at his home and arrested Carter a second time, as the charges have now been escalated to North Carolina Superior Court. That’s right: A simple misdemeanor is now being pursued to a felony-level court because this Christian missionary has refused to back down!

Lawful Behavior Punished

Carter and Bethany were legally parked on the side of the road, waiting for their father, when law enforcement arrived. The two were calm and courteous, complying with law enforcement, except for the single assertion of their rights: refusing to prematurely surrender their identification when nothing lawful required it. After that, Jesse arrived with his cross, and the police became agitated with the missionaries.

Despite never physically struggling with any officer, they were falsely charged with resisting arrest simply for exercising their Fourth Amendment rights. Fortunately, Jesse captured the entire incident on his body camera.

Charging That Defies Norms

The state’s decision to charge Carter with resisting or obstructing, despite video showing no such resistance, is inconsistent with neutral enforcement. But to make matters worse, months later, despite cooperating with the court at every stage, the case was referred to a grand jury and elevated to Superior Court. This is inexplicable for a misdemeanor allegation against a man with no prior convictions.

Instead of devoting scarce resources to prosecuting violent crime, drug trafficking, or repeat offenders, the state is expending extraordinary energy to drag a peaceful Christian missionary into Superior Court over a baseless misdemeanor. North Carolinians should be asking why officers were sent to this missionary’s home while genuine threats to public safety go unaddressed.

Speech Becomes the Trigger

These decisions by the state did not occur in a vacuum. Members of Carter’s church have been passionate in their advocacy on his behalf, including peacefully protesting at the courthouse and publicizing the case. Rather than addressing these valid concerns, prosecutors have explicitly cited these constitutionally protected activities as contributing to less favorable plea offers and rougher treatment. Apparently, they think that the exercise of religion and political expression should come at the cost of due process.

Monday’s Arrest

Despite the defense’s cooperation, accessible video evidence supporting Carter’s version of events, and the absence of flight risk or threat, Carter was arrested . . . again. This is retaliation with handcuffs. This is escalation with force. The unusual decision to escalate these charges to Superior Court was compounded by an inexplicable arrest of Carter at his home. Without any new allegations, police arrived and arrested him for an offense dating back to January.

Today, we’re seeing violent offenders too often walk free. Yet here, law enforcement diverted time and manpower to arrest Carter in his home over a stale misdemeanor charge. This is not justice. It is retaliation.

The Constitution draws a clear line: Protected religious and political speech cannot justify criminal prosecution. As the Supreme Court has made clear, “‘[T]he First Amendment prohibits government officials from subjecting an individual to retaliatory actions’ for engaging in protected speech.” Prosecutorial decisions “may not be ‘deliberately based upon’ . . . the exercise of protected statutory and constitutional rights.” In this case equal protection demands dismissal – or at least a hearing.

Our Stand for Justice

We will be in court this Wednesday for Carter’s arraignment in Superior Court, insisting on not only proclaiming “not guilty,” but demanding accountability for the escalation, the retaliation, and the misuse of prosecutorial power. We will be filing thorough legal briefing that sets out the illegality of Carter’s arrest and the clear retaliation he has faced.

No one should be arrested for standing on constitutional rights. No one should be indicted because of their speech, their faith, or their refusal to stay silent. Our justice system should focus on protecting communities from real criminals, not inventing crimes out of constitutionally protected speech. We ask you to stand with us: Share our message, pray for justice, and help ensure that this escalation does not become a new standard.