Recently released body camera footage of an incident earlier this month shows police officers in Tulsa, Oklahoma, ordering the anti-war group Food Not Bombs (FNB) to stop handing out meals to the homeless and arresting four activists after they insisted they had a First Amendment right to continue.
Local news outlets reported that Tulsa police arrested four members of the local FNB chapter on May 6 on charges including attempting to flee, obstruction, and resisting arrest. Six other volunteers were cited. The crackdown is the latest flare-up in what a 2023 Reason column called "an ongoing tug-of-war that pits public order against the First Amendment right to perform charity as a form of expression." Groups like FNB and Christian charities say feeding the needy is political and religious expression, while city governments say unpermitted food distribution is a public health concern and a nuisance.
