Share Tweet By Billy Hallowell Editor
January 26, 2023
“I don’t care what they say. They are wrong and I’m right.”
Norma Thornton’s defiant message is clear: she isnt backing down anytime soon. Last year, Bullhead City police arrested the 78-year-old Arizona grandma for feeding the homeless in a public park a violation of a city ordinance.
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“As the day was just finishing up and everybody was pretty well gone, [the] last gentleman came up, I dished up his food and just as he was walking away, a couple of police officers drove up, and asked what I was doing,” Thornton told CBN’s Faithwire.
Then officers informed Thornton of her arrest, which was captured on video. She was placed in the back of a cop vehicle during the ordeal.
“Technically, Im supposed to be handcuffing you and everything, too, but Im not going to do that, because I dont think youre a hardened criminal,” an officer can be heard proclaiming. “I dont think youre out to hurt me.
Although the misdemeanor was later dropped, Thornton was reportedly told she would face jail time if found guilty of any future feedings in the park a claim that left her stunned.
Watch Thornton tell the story at the 8:48-mark:
Some might wonder what motivates Thornton’s kind gestures, and she wasted no time in crediting the Lord.
“The No. 1 motivation is my Savior, Jesus Christ,” Thornton said. “In His Father, we are told repeatedly: the first and most foremost commandment is love love thy neighbor, love your fellow man. He tells us several times, ‘What you do to the least of my people, you so do to me.’”
Some critics see the park preclusion as deeply troubling and unconstitutional. Diana Simpson, Thorntons attorney, said she initially found Thorntons plight hard to believe.
“It’s just it’s such a wild story,” Simpson said. “You think at first that, like, this can’t be real. It can’t be the case that a city is arresting someone for helping those in need and then you find out that it is the case. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what’s going on and that violates the Constitution.”
Simpson says her client is suing to stop the ordinance and win back the right to feed the homeless again in the park.
“We want to get Norma back to where she was,” the attorney said. “Before all of this started, serving folks in the park is really the best place that she’s found.”
Thornton, now feeding the poor in a private lot a few blocks away, is confident she’s doing what’s right.
“There is no reason under this earth that any human being should be hungry in this country that we live in actually, anywhere in the world,” she said. “There’s no reason for that. Our world is so full of food and luxuries. Why should anyone be hungry? I can’t understand.”
City officials say the ordinance is to ensure cleanliness in the park and safety for those being fed. As the battle continues, one thing is clear: Thornton isnt giving up anytime soon.
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