A Christian preacher who spent almost 10 months protesting a Eugene adult store is going to court with the store’s owner today to contest a stalking order.
Even as both parties head to the bench they cannot agree on the issue of debate; freedom of speech and religion or freedom for commerce.
Jake Wilcoxson, a born-again Christian who preaches throughout Eugene, began protesting and preaching on the sidewalks around the adult shop B&B Distributors on West 6th Avenue in March 2006. He would often appear on the corner by the store two or three times a week for a few hours each day.
When co-owner Timothy Kay filed a stalking order in December 2006 Wilcoxson was forced to stay at least 50 feet away from Kay or any of his properties.
If Kay wins on Wednesday, the order will be permanent, while a Wilcoxson win would allow him to continue preaching.
Wilcoxson, a Harrisburg, Ore. resident who works for a construction company in the neighborhood, said he chose to demonstrate in front of the store because of convenience and because he felt pornography and the store’s customers were ruining their lives and marriages.
“Whatever I could do to discourage people from going in, that’s what I would do,” Wilcoxson said.
Wilcoxson’s methods for discouraging people included leaving religious pamphlets on cars and yelling at customers and employees to go home and be with their families to videotaping and photographing the male customers, saying that he would contact their wives and employers if they went into the store.
Wilcoxson said he sometimes brought his 8- and 9-year-old daughters and members of his Halsey, Ore. church congregation, numbering around 50 to 100 people, with him to the store to protest. He said the stalking order is unjustified because he stayed on public property and because of free speech.
Kay sees it differently.
The issue isn’t about pornography, religion or free speech, he said, but about his right to run a legal business and about Wilcoxson’s actions. Kay owns a sister store in Springfield and three adult stores in Arizona, and he has had religious protesters in front of his store before, but none, he said, like Wilcoxson.
Kay alleged that Wilcoxson has chased some of their customers down the street, while some customers have asked to be escorted to their cars because of Wilcoxson’s presence, he said.
“He thinks that since he doesn’t like the nature of my business, he has a right to harass and stalk people who have anything to do with my business,” Kay said.
Kay said Wilcoxson also tried to get violent reactions out of him by calling him a rapist, masturbator and a fornicator, often yelling so Kay could hear him in his office. Wilcoxson also chased him down the street as he was driving away from the store.
“The reason (he yells at me) is he tries to provoke a reaction out of me that he can’t get,” Kay said. “The only thing we can do is turn the other cheek.”
Wilcoxson said he wasn’t trying to provoke a violent reaction and that he wouldn’t fight anyone because of his beliefs, although he was threatened and punched by some people after he started protesting the store.
While Wilcoxson has focused his efforts on customers and employees entering the store, he has drawn attention from other businesses in the neighborhood.
Julie Johnson, a saleswoman at Karpet King, said she or her customers weren’t bothered by Wilcoxson’s aggressive presence, partially because she agrees with what he is doing.
Thomas Brunson, the manager at Jackson’s Complete Auto Care, which is across the street from the store, said Wilcoxson hassled his employees whenever they parked on the street near B&B Distributors mostly because he thought they were going into the store. He said most just ignored Wilcoxson and continue walking.
“His freedom of speech is certainly welcome in our world, but that’s not a right to push your beliefs on others,” Brunson said. “You can get a lot further with a smile than what he’s doing.”
Wilcoxson said he is successful at discouraging people to go into the store, claiming that several customers have thanked him and have promised him that they’ll never go back.
Kay said business hasn’t been affected and that it has been better than ever, although some customers started coming only when Wilcoxson wasn’t around. He said he doesn’t know what he will do if the court rules against his stalking order.
If the court rules in his favor, Wilcoxson said he plans to go back to the store on the same day and protest, although he doesn’t know how long he will remain there.
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