{"id":8448,"date":"2022-12-05T09:59:58","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T14:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=8448"},"modified":"2022-12-05T09:59:58","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T14:59:58","slug":"arizona-grandmother-arrested-for-feeding-the-homeless-vows-to-keep-helping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2022\/12\/arizona-grandmother-arrested-for-feeding-the-homeless-vows-to-keep-helping.html","title":{"rendered":"Arizona Grandmother Arrested For Feeding The Homeless Vows to Keep Helping"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"norma<\/a>
Institute For Justice<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The attorney for Norma Thornton, a 78-year-old grandmother from Arizona who was arrested earlier this year for feeding the homeless in a public park, praised her \u201ckindhearted\u201d client and explained why she believes authorities violated her constitutional rights.<\/p>\n

Diana Simpson, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, a law firm working to defend Americans\u2019 civil rights, said she initially couldn\u2019t believe Thornton\u2019s plight was real.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just it\u2019s such a wild story. You think, at first, that like this can\u2019t be real,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cIt can\u2019t be the case that a city is arresting someone for helping those in need, and then you find out that it is the case.\u201d The lawyer said she and her team reached out to Thornton after hearing about the shocking ordeal, did research to substantiate it, and then decided to represent her.<\/p>\n

Faithwire\u00a0previously reported<\/a> Thornton spends most days personally cooking food for the poor and serving it to them. She made headlines after she was\u00a0arrested in March for giving food<\/a>\u00a0to the homeless at Bullhead City Community Park, a place she had been going to almost daily for four years. But a city ordinance now precludes her from serving food in the park to those in need.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a permit requirement, and so, if you want to feed people with a charitable purpose on public land, you first have to get a permit,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cThese permits are expensive. They\u2019re only available for one person, one day a month, and they\u2019re only available at one location, one day a month.\u201d<\/p>\n