Orlando: Activist Arrested For Feeding Homeless At Lake Eola

ACLU lawyers were meeting Thursday afternoon to take legal action against the arrest of the homeless advocate. They said the city publicly said it would not enforce its ordinance about feeding the homeless until the ACLU lawsuit worked its way through the courts. They don't think the city's law has a leg to stand on.
Activist Arrested For Feeding Homeless At Lake Eola

April 5, 2007

ORLANDO, Fla. -- An activist was out of jail on bond, Thursday, following his arrest for feeding the homeless at Lake Eola in Orlando. Eric Montanez was arrested Wednesday afternoon for violating the city ordinance that bans large group meals at Lake Eola Park.

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Activists said the arrest proves they are being harassed.

ACLU lawyers were meeting Thursday afternoon to take legal action against the arrest of the homeless advocate. They said the city publicly said it would not enforce its ordinance about feeding the homeless until the ACLU lawsuit worked its way through the courts. They don't think the city's law has a leg to stand on.

Police said 21-year-old Eric Montanez, with the group Food Not Bombs, broke the law by feeding more than 25 people, as the city ordinance allows, inside Lake Eola's park Wednesday evening. Officers worked surveillance and counted exactly how many people Montanez fed, 30. Police even took a sample of what was served as evidence.


ACLU's local chairman, George Crossley, is stunned by the resources and time police put into someone reaching out to care for the homeless.

"There are a lot better things for law enforcement to be doing in this town, but this was an outrage," Crossley said.

Bruce McGillivray, living on the streets himself, was getting a meal and saw police cuff Montanez.

"It seems heartless. That's the word, heartless," McGillivray said.

The mayor's office did not respond to calls from Eyewitness News. Orlando police said they are simply enforcing the laws.

But the ACLU claims it's just another example of the harassment it endures as its group and several others supporting the homeless try to help those in need. They believe the city doesn't want the homeless around because of the image some worry it presents to the public.

The Central Florida ACLU believes the ordinance itself is unconstitutional. Homeless supporters have gotten around it so far by not having any one group feed more than 25 people without a special permit. That is, until Wednesday.

"Can you possibly believe we live in a city that it's a crime to feed the homeless?" Crossley questioned.

Eyewitness News was unable to reach Montanez. He got out of jail Thursday morning on $250 bond. He faces a misdemeanor charge for feeding a large group in a city-owned park.