ANÂ evangelist who has been making a thorough nuisance of himself on the Staten Island ferry in New York wound up in police custody this week after biting a cop.
Pain-in-arse preacher Ihedioha
Michael Ihedioha, 47, of LaTourette Lane, New Springville, clamped his jaws on the officer’s forearm as the cop tried to arrest him for blocking an aisle while preaching, according to this report, which has a video showing the fool in action.
Ihedioha, aka Michael Nwadiuko, pastor at his home-based Christ the Lord Evangelistic Association, was arrested for assault and other charges.
The pest is one of several preachers who infest the ferries noisily spouting Scripture and “moral” messages to the intense irritation of passengers.
According to court records, Ihedioha was babbling away with his arms outstretched, blocking an aisle on the Staten Island-bound boat. A police officer told him three times to keep moving. But the preacher remained put.
As the officer tried to arrest him, Ihedioha planted his feet, flailed his arms and yelled:
You’re breaking my arm!
After the preacher was taken to a “secure location”, he allegedly bit the officer’s forearm, bruising it.
The fracas didn’t end there.
While Ihedioha was in the “secure location,” his wife, Angela Nwadiuko, 45, repeatedly tried to get into the area, prosecutors allege. Mrs Nwadiuko, also a pastor at the evangelistic association, refused to leave, despite orders to clear off.
Ihedioha is expected to be arraigned on a felony count of second-degree assault, said a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan. He also is accused of obstructing government administration and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors, as well as two counts of disorderly conduct.
Angela Nwadiuko was charged with obstructing government administration and disorderly conduct.
If convicted of the felony charge, Ihedioha could be deported.
Ferry riders and preachers have long shared an uneasy relationship. In interview two years ago, Ihedioha said his intention was to help those who could benefit from his message, not to annoy.
Hat Tip: Buffy
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
October 27th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Now, now. Jesus just said to turn the other cheek. He never said you couldn’t bite.
October 27th, 2009 at 10:23 am
LaTourette Lane: you couldn’t make it up!
October 27th, 2009 at 10:33 am
A good stint in Bellvue would fix what ails him.
October 27th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Whatever his intentions, I know I would be pissed off if someone tried to push his god down my throat when doing my own thing. I’m sure ‘Hell’ is the place for me, for being an atheist, amongst other things, as it might the only place in a hypothetical afterlife where the changes of running into the likes of Michael Ihedioha are pretty slim.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:46 am
I knew some of the Plymouth Brethren who would engage in activities like this, which in my view simply alienate people. One “trick”, especially popular in Northern Ireland, was for one of them to sit quite some way away from the other on a bus, and then engage in a very loud, “mock” conversation along these lines:
“Good morning, brother Arbuthnot: it’s a fine day today, isn’t it? Aren’t you glad you’re saved? Isn’t it a grand thing to know that all your sins are forgiven, and you’re assured of a place in Heaven through the precious blood of Christ, shed for us poor Hell-deserving sinners? Isn’t He just a wonderful Saviour? Did you know that the Bible says …” and so on and so forth, until the end of the journey. I imagine that in this day and age the repercussions could actually prove fatal!!
October 27th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
barriejohn:
I’ve heard of others elsewhere using that kind of “witness.” I never did; I just annoyed people on the streets with my tracts. I wonder if “Brother Arbuthnot” and his “saved” buddy secretly felt as silly about the whole thing as I did.
October 27th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
I always knew those evangelists were rabid, it’s the way they foam at the mouth….
October 27th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
This guy should be deported.
What a blabbering idiot.
You can tell he was not raised there and will never end up blending with the society he wishes to be part of. What a tool/bad apple.
October 27th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
http://www.holytrinitybrompton.uk.org
Thought you guys and girls might like this.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Just what an idiot. How do you go from getting on a ferry – to biting a cop – without being a massive wanker?
He must set out every day to aggravate people – and I almost feel sorry for him as he is so clearly deluded and non-educated. Saying that – I am glad we don’t get that kind of hopeless clown around my neck of the woods.
I did say *almost* – in actuality he should be jailed for a LONG time.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
lets just hope the guy wasn’t a zombie or something and he spreads what he’s infected with through bites :O
But seriously couldn’t they just put him in a lifeboat and tow it behind the ferry to keep him out of the way like Bruce Lee did to that one arsehole in Enter the dragon??
October 27th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
It’s starting in the U of K to, me and my pagan Mister were walking into town with our toddler and these two Stepford-looking Mormons walked up to us attempting to give us a long and boring talk on the benefits of being saved. I attempted to be polite, but my other half wasn’t having it. He told them in no uncertain terms to… uh… go away.
They’ve been coming door to door to! They attempted to have a long discussion with my Christian Mum, who politely but firmly told them “We’ve already got one…”
I added “Eeets veery nice! Your mother waaz an ‘amster… etc.”
October 27th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Meanwhile, France talks sense:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wor.....327569.stm
October 27th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Fellow Seekers of Truth: using the logic of science, we check phenomena to see if they are explained by theory. If many phenomena can be explained, we then hold that theory to be true.
Edwin Abbott, writing his book ‘Flatland’ to humorously explain contiguous dimensional worlds, shows us a logical explanation for worlds superior to ours. ‘Techie Worlds’ uses the Flatland Concept to examine far-out Christian teachings such as Trinity, soul, Resurrection, Judgment, etc. While quite preposterous from a ‘material-world-only’ view, these teachings make rational good sense in the Flatland context.
Mankind has long been plagued with reports of the spirit world: miracles, ghosts, possession, pagan gods, witchcraft, occult, devil worship, black masses. Materialists classify all such as superstition and overactive imaginings. Christians shy from such, holding them unnatural because Jesus taught us to love. But the materialist position involves an act of faith that ‘the material world is all that there is’. Their act of faith cannot be proved. Certainly, science cannot possibly experiment with the spirit world. Techie Worlds’ (available from http://www.amazon) shows the belief in higher worlds, also an act of faith, is logical and considered, and shows these strange Christian concepts to be logically possible.
Pascal’s Wager points out that the Christian act of faith urges us to a better life in this world and can result in great rewards in the next. The unbelieving view encourages selfish misanthropic behavior now and denies all future eternal rewards. Clearly, rational self-interest makes belief in a logical, rational, rewarding Christian love to be the wise and intelligent choice.
GeorgeRic
October 27th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
“Certainly, science cannot possibly experiment with the spirit world.”
Neither can it “experiment” with Pratchett’s famous Disc World, George Ric, because both are figments of the imagination (in Pratchett’s case, a highly amusing, inventive and entertaining figment, which cannot be said of books like the Bible or the Koran).
October 27th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Oh, no! Not Pascal’s Wager again- I’m losing the will to live!!
October 27th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Just to play pedant here, it’s Discworld, not Disc World. But otherwise, spot on!
October 27th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
“Edwin Abbott, writing his book ‘Flatland’ to humorously explain contiguous dimensional worlds, shows us a logical explanation for worlds superior to ours. ”
Gosh, and there was me thinking that Flatland was just an attempt to help us three-dimensionally-constrained beings visualize the effects of higher-dimensional spaces. I never realised that Abbott was positing their existence. How very remiss of me.
October 27th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Quote GeorgeRic: ” we check phenomena to see if they are explained by theory. If many phenomena can be explained, we then hold that theory to be true.”
The scientific process demands evidence by repeatable experiment or observation from which a theory can be established. So GeorgeRic you do not have a theory because you have no evidence, merely superstition, supposition and conjecture.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
see my review of The Rejection of Pascal’s Wager, by Paul Tobin, at http://www.midwestbookreview.com, November 2009 (to be posted on or after November 1).
October 28th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Quoting GeorgeRic “The unbelieving view encourages selfish misanthropic behavior now and denies all future eternal rewards. ”
It encourages NO selfish behaviour in ANY WAY!!!! And of course it denies future eternal rewards because there aren’t any!
…..Problem with having a totally open mind is that your stupid brain might just fall out!
October 29th, 2009 at 2:15 am
GeorgeRic,
You need to stop spamming atheist blogs with your cut & paste bullshit. My wife and I didn’t appreciate it when you did it to us (which is why your comment was not approved and you were banned) . Nobody is interested in your brainless tripe, or the ridiculous book you’re trying to pimp. Keep it up and you’ll be reported to Amazon.com for your behavior.
October 30th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Damn, is that Ric prick here too? I’ve encountered him on other blogs today.
Anyway, I only came here to say it’s a good job the cop only tried to arrest Ihedioha. If he’d offered him money he’d have had his hand bitten off!