A prayer and the pledge of allegiance result in a ruckus at a Washington State senior center.
The board of directors at the Mullis Community Senior Center on San Juan Island decided to revise its lunchtime program by removing the traditional prayer and the recitation of the pledge.
The center’s executive committee blamed the prayer and the pledge for a decline in attendance.
The senior center went on to say they had a “duty to provide a safe and peaceful environment in our building and on our property, inclusive to all.”
The senior citizens at the center weren’t happy about the decision and reached out to the one organization they knew would help – the American Legion.
American Legion Post 163 Commander David Holzer said they were “more than happy to help.” But even the brave military veterans were not prepared for the community center’s open hostility toward patriots.
Radio station KIRO reports that American Legion members were threatened, harassed and kicked out of the building.
They also report that sheriff’s deputies escorted one veteran out of the building after he brought a flag onto the premises and recited the pledge.
Holzer tells the radio station that a staffer even compared reciting the pledge to Nazism.
First Liberty Institute told the “Todd Starnes Radio Show” it should be permissible for senior citizens to not only pledge allegiance to the flag but also pray to the Almighty.
First Liberty says they have been in contact with local seniors to advise them of their constitutional rights.