Dean Saxton, a Christian who calls himself Brother Dean, was booked into the Pima County Jail, charged with misdemeanor assault, and banned from the school's Tucson campus for one year, says Sergeant Filbert Barrera, a public information officer for the university police.
Saxton was proselytizing about how "gay people are destroying the country" at around noon on Tuesday when the victim tried to approach him on the university's alumni plaza, Barrera tells New Times. He warded her off with his boot.
"She took a pretty good kick," Barrera says. "There were shoe marks on her chest."
Saxton, dressed in a purple T-shirt with a red "No Homo" symbol on the front, kept his Bible clasped in his hands as he was handcuffed. Bystanders cheered. The victim took to Twitter to proclaim: "Brother Dean thinks he's so invincible but I just got him arrested and banned from campus so HA."
Others joined in jubilantly.Brother Dean thinks he's so invincible but I just got him arrested and banned from campus so HA
— Kenzie (@Kenzieb178) September 20, 2016
University police are always on standby when Saxton, also known as "the slut-shaming preacher," makes an appearance, because "pretty much everything that comes out of his mouth is filth [and tends to] rub people the wrong way," Barrera says. But it's often Saxton they're forced to step in to protect.
In May, a 19-year-old whacked Saxton over the head with a bat while he was railing against Muslims outside a high school in Glendale. Eight staples were required to close the gash.
"Fortunately, we all have the right to express ourselves," Barrera says.
Saxton, who also pickets at Arizona State University, prescribes eternal damnation for "porn freaks," pot smokers, thugs, masturbators, witches, and yoga-pants wearers. He maintains that wearing short shorts and tight clothing is an invitation for rape."She took a pretty good kick. There were shoe marks on her chest." — University of Arizona police spokesman Filbert Barrera
tweet this
He was inspired to hit the streets with his megaphone after watching another street preacher, "Bro Jed," Saxton recounts on his blog, "Open Air Preaching with Brother Dean." He admired the bold way the older man "battled the Atheists" and brushed off seductive college women with a salty "I realize what a temptation I can be to you girls!"
"I thought, 'Hey, I could be a temptation, too — by becoming a real man like Jed!" he writes.
When Jed announced his retirement, he asked, "Who will rise up?"
Saxton stood and answered, "I will."
"I started to feel this need to preach, this fire!" Saxton writes. "It was like a fire locked up in my bones."
The man with the fire in his bones was released from jail on his own recognizance, pending his court date.
