Politics & Government

Ahlquist: We Have No Connection to Woonsocket Cross Case

Mark Ahlquist, father of Jessica Ahlquist, said his family has nothing to do with the controversy over a cross on Woonsocket city property.

It's easy to make a connection between the Cranston prayer banner case and the most recent controversy in Woonsocket over a cross at a war memorial at a fire station.

Mark Ahlquist, father of Jessica Ahlquist — the Cranston West student and plaintiff at the center of the prayer banner case — said that his family "once again. . .is being targeted with hate" and people are assuming that they're connected to the Woonsocket situation.

"We have absolutely nothing to do with that situation," Ahlquist said in an e-mail message. "For several reasons, I consider it to be a very different case than the prayer banner," Ahlquist said.

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In fact, Ahlquist agrees with some of the supporters who came out to defend his daughter in her legal case against the school district and who believe the Woonsocket war memorial should be left intact.

"I see it as a historic memorial to specific people which ended up where it is after a road was flooded out," Ahlquist said. "If anything, as a supporter of our veterans, I would like it to see it moved to a more fitting place, but that has nothing to do with the law."

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But people seem to automatically link Ahlquist to any discussion about religion or religious symbols in the public sphere and that inevitably leads to threats, nasty comments online and other negative things, Ahlquist said.

"Someone also sent me something from Facebook saying 'she is going to get shot if she keeps this up,'" Ahlquist said.

"I want to try and stop it before it gets worse."

Earlier this year, Jessica Ahlquist was the recipient of hate mail and threatening messages on the Internet, many originating from Twitter and other places where everybody could see them. They threatened her with violence and rape and led to disciplinary action for some students at her school who posted threats as well as a police detail outside her house.

Mark Ahlquist said his beliefs are very similar to those contained in a letter written by William Santagata, who came out in support of Ahlquist in the prayer banner case, to Woonsocket Mayor Leo Fontaine. (See attached)

In the letter, Santagata states the memorial in Woonsocket "falls within the gray area of the Establishment Clause" that has been used to uphold a 10 Commandments monument on the Texas State House grounds and essentially states the government shouldn't be compelled to purge every last reference to religion from the public sphere.

"It also shows that most of us are not out to erase religion, simply to defend Separation of Church and State when there is flagrant violations - and that protects the religious as much as anyone," Ahlquist said.

The Woonsocket cross issue began when the Freedom From Religion Foundation wrote a letter to city officials asking it be removed. The same organization became involved in the Cranston prayer banner saga, most notably when it filed a complaint after a local florist refused to deliver flowers to Ahlquist at the peak of banner controversy.

Ahlquist did not contact the FFRF to alert them about the cross in Woonsocket. That person has asked to remain anonymous.


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