They have the right to say what they want...it’s not a matter of shaking the dust. They had a right to speak.
From the story it sounds like these ‘preachers’ were as popular as Fred Phelps & his traveling Zoo. Would you support old Fred and his free speech?
To end, one persons call to Faith may be viewed as 'hate speech' by another, it just depends on where you stand. I believe the police officer thought he was defusing a situation that could have quickly gotten out of hand, and someone injured.
I guess next time he should wait until someone gets a busted head, 'eh?