Two Florida preachers drop knees in the wrong place, end up arrested

Instead of abiding by vows to “resist evil,” two politically-fueled Florida preachers found themselves charged with resisting arrest in protest of the SAFE ROADS initiative.

(Video Credit: Fox 13)

Virtue signaling was on full display in the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, on Friday as the state’s Department of Transportation proceeded to remove political murals from the roadways of the Sunshine State. In particular, the Reverend Andrew Oliver and Minister Benedict Atherton-Zeman spent a night in jail after kneeling in the street to protest the removal of a “Black History Matters” mural.

“Part of my vows that I took as part of my ordination and my baptism is to resist evil, injustice, and oppression,” said Oliver of the Allendale United Methodist Church to Fox 13.

Recounting his own remarks from the scene, Atherton-Zeman of the Unitarian Universalist Church told the outlet, “What I said was, ‘Mother goddess, father god, spirit of life, thank you for this ability to do your work in this world.”

“We have the values of interdependence, of love, and I really couldn’t just stand on the sidelines,” he went on about their protest outside the Woodson African American Museum. “I had to kneel in the street.”

The duo was reportedly charged with misdemeanor resisting, as law enforcement had instructed them to get off the street. Speaking with WTSP, Atherton-Zeman said, “When we kept praying, they hauled us off to the sidewalk and arrested us, and we spent the night in jail.”

Protests followed an initiative from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who’d sent a letter to each governor in July calling for the removal of gratuitous distractions from roadways.

“The SAFE ROADS national initiative will focus on the non-freeway arterials within your State, including safety and operation at intersections and along segments, consistent and recognizable traffic control devices,” wrote Duffy, “including crosswalk and intersection markings, and orderly use of the right-of-way that is kept free from distractions.”

Having already signed a law to that end, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) directed the Florida Department of Transportation to oversee the removal of the various murals that included “Back the Blue” and rainbow activist messages with a deadline of Sept. 4.

As for Atherton-Zeman and Oliver, the duo who spent a night in Pinellas County Jail, were released the following day, having each posted $500 bond.

“For me, living out my faith, resisting tyranny and fascism and white supremacy was the most important thing last night,” Oliver told the Tampa Bay Times. “I had to do what I had to do.”

Meanwhile, as leftist Floridians began to catch on that they were in a losing battle and that there is a difference between public and private property, with some taking to painting their own driveways to further signal their support for alphabet activism and the like, one X user challenged the preachers to take a real stand and move their stunts to Chicago.

“Maybe these two idiots should spend more time kneeling in the streets of Chicago, where a record number of black children are being shot to death year after year!” read the message. “Typical leftist, embracing the hollow virtue signal that solves nothing!”

Maybe these two idiots should spend more time kneeling in the streets of Chicago, where a record number of black children are being shot to death year after year!

Typical leftist, embracing the hollow virtue signal that solves nothing!

— Proudly Ultra MAGA (@M_B_Bolinger) September 1, 2025