No good deed goes unpunished! Just ask 90-year-old Arnold Abbott, who was busted in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for feeding the homeless.
Cops have issued Arnold three citations for violating a new city ordinance that bans “public food sharing.” The citations carry a $500 penalty, and a sentence of up to 60 days in jail.
Arnold told The National ENQUIRER: “When I was arrested on Nov. 2, one of the police officers said, ‘Drop that plate right now,’ as if I were carrying a weapon. These people I’m feeding are the poorest of the poor. They have nothing. They don’t have a roof over their head. How could you turn them away?”
The gutsy oldster wears a chef’s coat while handing out meals, and wrote on Facebook: “I have no fear of spending the night in a Fort Lauderdale jail.”
He’s a longtime advocate for the homeless, and founded the Love Thy Neighbor Fund in his late wife’s memory in his late wife’s memory in 1991.
Arnold first fought the city’s ban on feeding the homeless on Fort Lauderdale Beach back in 1999, and now says: “I’m going to have to go to court again to sue the city of Fort Lauderdale.”
Since his bust made headlines, two attorneys have filed suits against the city, claiming its ban on “public food sharing” violates the U.S. Constitution and the Florida Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
City officials reportedly want the handouts moved indoors for safety’s sake and so they can be regulated with permits.
A judge has since suspended enforcement of the city’s homeless feeding ban, and ordered mediation on the issue.
Meanwhile, Arnold said he’s been feeding the hungry in honor of his wife Maureen since she died in a car accident in 1991. “I’m doing this in her memory,” said the World War II veteran. “I’ve been fighting for the underdog all my life. So, for me, fighting for the homeless is nothing new.”
