FORT WORTH — Duante Newton was acquitted Thursday in a jury trial for allegedly violating a noise ordinance by preaching on the streets of Fort Worth.
Newton was issued a citation for disturbing the peace and unnecessary noise on September 15, 2023. He was giving testimony at the Fort Worth Stockyards about what had brought him to Jesus, according to an Instagram post by Rosalie Escobedo, the executive director of the Tarrant County branch of Citizens Defending Freedom.
According to Escobedo, Newton had just completed his final day of a weeklong evangelical training with the organization Christ for All Nations in the Fort Worth Stockyards. Using a megaphone, which Escobedo alleges was below 70 decibels, Newton was preaching and giving testimony on a public sidewalk when he was confronted by an employee working in the Stockyards. The employee purportedly told Newton and the group he was with that their activities belonged inside a church and proceeded to call the police. The police issued Newton a citation.
The Dallas Express attended Newton’s jury trial on Thursday.
“What we are going to hear today is about noise,” said prosecutor Jackson Skinner in his opening statement.
The prosecution argued that Newton knowingly disrupted business activity by making noise with the megaphone. Two witnesses who work in the Stockyards testified that Newton was disturbing the peace and interfering with the businesses that operate in the area. Officer Rafael Salazar of the Fort Worth Police Department, who was present when the citation was issued, also testified.
“Today, we are here because of a young man sharing his faith,” said Martin Etwop, one of Newton’s defense attorneys, in his opening statement.
Newton’s attorneys argued that he was exercising his First Amendment right to free speech. They showed a police video recording the jury from that day. The recording showed that a cattle drive event that was occurring at the time was making loud noises in the area. The attorneys argued that businesses and people in the area did not complain.
Jonathan Hullihan, another defense attorney, asked Salazar if Newton’s megaphone had exceeded the decibel limit set by the city.
“I did not witness it,” Salazar answered.
The jury found Newton not guilty.
“We had a big win for victory today, a big win for justice, big win for the rule of law, we just got Mr. Duante Newton a full acquittal with [a] jury trial for a noise ordinance violation for preaching in a traditional public forum on the streets of Fort Worth,” Hullihan said at a press conference.
Hullihan added that Newton was “preaching about Jesus, giving his testimony, and he was charged with a crime and went to a jury trial. Well, we acquitted Mr. Newton and we’re very happy for him and very happy for his family. We thank the court. We thank the jury. And the rule of law won today.”
Newton celebrated his acquittal.
“This is a sign. This is what Jesus told us in Matthew 24:9, ‘Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.’ We’re living in the End Times, where Christians don’t have rights or the freedom to speak in a public place. But the Lord also says, ‘Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you,'” Newton told DX.