Fort Lauderdale police charged Arnold Abbott, 90, and two pastors on Sunday with violating the city's new ordinance that bans giving out food in public, reports Fox News.

Abbott and the pastors face 60 days in jail along with a $500 fine.

During a phone call with Fox News from his office at Love Thy Neighbor, Inc., a nonprofit he established to help homeless people, the spry 90-year-old said he intends to get arrested again Wednesday night when he feeds more of the Florida city's homeless on a public beach.

"I know that I will be arrested again, and I am prepared for that," Abbott said.

Fort Lauderdale enacted an ordinance in October that included new regulations about where and how organizations can give food to homeless people. Florida voters thereby made the city the 13th in the country since 2012 to pass feeding the homeless restrictions, according to a report by the National Coalition for the Homeless.

The regulations passed in Fort Lauderdale state the following:

  • Two indoor feeding stations cannot operate within 500 feet of one another or on the same block.
  • Outdoor feeding sites require a permit or property owner permission.
  • Outdoor feeding sites must include portable toilets.
  • Outdoor feeding stations cannot be within 500 feet of residential properties.

Abbott's charity was cited because it did not meet the toilet requirement. Although the group has tried to abide by all the regulations, they are unable to provide a port-a-potty and believe that this is a job for the municipality, Abbott said.

The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reports that pastora Mark Sims of St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church in Coral Springs and Dwayne Black of The Sanctuary Church in Fort Lauderdale, were arrested along with Abbott. The men were not handcuffed or taken to jail. They received citations and must appear in court.

Abbott is a World War II veteran who won two Purple Hearts as an infantryman. A retired jewelry salesman, he created Love Thy Neighbor, Inc. in memory of his wife, Maureen, who died in a car accident 23 years ago. It is a full-time program dedicated to feeding the homeless and teaching people food service skills.

There are an estimated 10,000 homeless people in Fort Lauderdale.

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