Students gathered in Polk Place Tuesday afternoon to watch a group of demonstrators urge them to repent.
As one man, wearing a shirt that read “Sodomites deserve AIDS,” engaged the crowd of students, another spoke to students one-on-one to tell them his testimony.
“We just go where the spirit tells us to,” one preacher who identified himself as Brother Daniel said while holding a sign that read, “Anus Awareness Day: Romans 1.”
The group claimed to be unaffiliated with any church or organization, but held signs advertising a website called christianinterviews.com. Police said they were unsure what time the demonstration began, but that they received a call to be on the scene shortly after 2 p.m.
“It’ll really depend on the group, but as long as it stays peaceful, we have to let them stay,” said Officer Haldenberger with UNC Police.
Students argued with the preachers about religion, gay rights and women’s rights. UNC junior Shakera Davis said she watched them point students out and tell them why they were going to hell.
“And, they’ve been filming the whole thing,” Davis said. “We told them they didn’t have our consent to film us, but they just kept going.”
Christian Interviews, the organization named on the group’s signs, has a Facebook page which links to videos of similar street preaching by their clergy.
Tirzo Beltran, a student from Northwestern University studying ministry, was at UNC to visit Davis when they came across the protest.
