The Raven girl reacts to Brother Larry's arrest
April 28, 2003 4:18 a.m.

By Beth White

April 25, 2003

"Brother" Larry Faulkner pleaded innocent Thursday morning to trespassing charges.

If Faulkner returns to campus, he will be arrested again, director of Public Safety Bill Mercier said.

Faulkner was arrested at the fountain Wednesday around 1 p.m. by two ISU police officers on charges of trespassing after being served a band letter by ISU police, Mercier said.

He was served the band letter after a female ISU student filed a summons for battery Tuesday afternoon, Mercier said.

The band letter prohibited Faulkner's return to campus after the battery complaint.

The female student reported that Larry approached her and three friends and joined in their conversation. The group told him he was unwelcome, but he stayed and began stroking the female's hair, arm, leg and back, Mercier said. The students attempted to leave, but Faulkner continued the harassment, Mercier said.

"He could've avoided the arrest by simply leaving," Mercier said. "He didn't need to be arrested. He could've just left campus."

Faulkner was released on his own recognizance from the Vigo County Jail at 1:56 p.m., 11 minutes after being booked, because the jail was full and the charge is a misdemeanor.

Thursday's arraignment hearing is continued to May 22 to allow Faulkner to contact an attorney.

Faulkner could opt for a jury trial, which would send the trial to the Vigo County Court, or he could receive a suspension, fine and order to stay away from ISU for a probationary period.

The maximum penalty for Class A trespassing is a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

In the past year, six to eight complaints have been filed against Faulkner, Mercier said. The complaints dealt mostly with Faulkner's comments.

"We aren't in the business of regulating speech, but this wasn't speech," Mercier said.

Faulkner also has battery charges pending in County Court Division 3.

Students react to Brother Larry's recent banishment

By Josh Cannon

Indiana Statesman

April 25, 2003

Elizabeth Proehl once saw Larry Faulkner walk into Priscilla's, look around and then go oustide to begin his street preaching. Unfortunately, she said, he didn't walk in far enough to see any of the good stuff.

Students like Proehl can only remember the funny side of Larry because as of Tuesday night, he has been banned from campus.

If Larry Faulkner returns to campus, he will be arrested again, said Bill Mercier, director of public safety.

Students are glad.

"I'm not going to miss him at all," said Yuko Sugita, a graduate student majoring in texitle and apparel merchandising.

While he deserves the right to free speech, sometimes he's just too much, Sugita said.

"He has the right to say whatever he wants, it may be annoying, but he can say it," Proehl said.

Zach Crane, senior mechanical technology major, agrees, but thinks Faulkner took it too far.

"He added an interesting dynamic to this campus, but he was too extreme with it," Crane said.

Senior Fine Arts major, Raven Green didn't think he was so intereseting.

"He's evil," she said remembering the numerous times she had to walk around the fountain area just to avoid Faulkner.

"He hit on a lot of girls", she said. "He was checking out the same people he was calling whores".

"He's hypocritical and that bothers me," Green said.

Green had plans with a friend to start an anti-Larry campaign by writing the scriptures he was violating in chalk around campus, but never got around to it.

"He's driving more people away than he is doing good," she said.

While she remembers the annoyance he caused, she does remember some of the more humorous times. Once she heard Faulkner say "maybe dinosaurs were created by human technology."