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Rev. Jones Trail Based On 1846 Statute

DEARBORN (WWJ) - A jury has decided that a planned demonstration by Florida pastor Terry Jones outside a Dearborn mosque would indeed constitute a breach of the peace.  Jones then refused to pay a $1, yes $1 bond set by Judge Mark Somer, so he was sent to jail.

WWJ and Fox 2 Legal Analyst Charlie Langton says this whole trial stems from an old law in which a so-called "peace bond" can be ordered in cases like these.

"This statute that we have this whole trial over, was enacted in 1846, this is an extremely old statute, it has rarely if ever been tried, I've never heard of a case like this before," says Langton.

Part of the judge's ruling included that controversial Qur'an burning pastor not visit the Islamic Center of America, site of his planned protest, for the next three years.

Langton was in the courtroom -- watching Jones make his arguments.

"He believes and argued throughout the trail today, that this is a violation of his free speech and there should not be a price on free speech, that's Jones' argument. The jury, however, said that Jones, if he comes to Dearborn and speaks ... he will breach the peace, another words create some sort of riot, and that the necessity for what they call a 'Peace Bond'," says Langton.

Langton says Jones also has the option of asking the judge to reconsider the bond conditions. 

"The whole incident was that the prosecutor's office wanted to have a bond set, so that if Jones spoke, then the extra police, security and all those types of things would be paid by Rev. Jones," says Langton.

The city of Dearborn denied Jones a permit to protest outside the Mosque, but offered him alternative sites, which he refused.

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