A protester who has frequented Palestinian protests at LBCC grabbed the sign of a man who identified himself as a Soldier for Christ while preaching his Christian beliefs with signs and a megaphone in the LAC quad near the crosswalk on Carson earlier today.
Around 11:30 a.m., married couple Shannon and Tatsuo Akamine were in the quad when the protester was shouting expletives and yelling at Tatsuo.
“Fuck you, you’re ruining religion,” the protester said.
A Viking reporter was able to capture a video of the altercation.
In the video, a witness of the event can be heard saying, “Maybe don’t do that.”
The protester then quickly walked away without another word.
“I was preaching and a young man came up to me and started to speak vile things. He grabbed my sign and threw it down to the ground. It happens, it didn’t bother me,” Tatsuo said.
The protester’s identity is unknown to The Viking.
“I guess he didn’t like what I was saying, but I continued preaching,” Tatsuo said.
About 15 minutes later, at least four Long Beach Police Department squad cars showed up only to enforce campus protocol for preaching religion.
An officer walked up to Tatsuo and asked him to stop using his megaphone and move to the sidewalk, which is not considered campus property.
Tatsuo did not discuss the incident with the protester to the police.
“I’ve been strangled, I’ve been beaten. The police ask, you know, do you want to press charges? I always say no, it’s okay,” Tatsuo said.
Prior to the altercation, the Akamines were approaching students, handing out pamphlets and Bible tracks to anyone who would accept them.
The Akamines are born-again Christians, individuals who undergo a spiritual transformation and devote their lives to their faith, who believe that their denomination consists of the only real Christians.
“If you are born again, then you shall live. There’s such a thing as false Christianity and God said not to love things on this earth, but love things up above,” Shannon said.
Tatsuo grew up Buddhist, but shared his experience in terms of converting to Christianity.
“I thought Christianity was the white man’s religion, but it’s a total lie. I nearly died, and when I was recovering, I realized God gave his grace to me. I wasn’t supposed to come out of a coma,” Tatsuo said.
Many of the students that the Akamines approached ignored them.
“Look, I’m a Christian too, but there’s a way to spread the word of God without being rude, or loud, and without pushing it in people’s faces. I feel like it made my religion look bad,” LBCC student Najah Davis, who was approached by the Akamines, said.