Texas Man Who Was Cited by Police for Feeding the Homeless Outside Houston Public Library Found Not Guilty

Phillip Picone, the Texas man cited by police after feeding the homeless outside the Houston Public Library, was found not guilty of violating a city ordinance.

The activist is with the group Food Not Bombs, which has been feeding Houston's homeless population near the area since 1995. The area outside the Houston Public Library used to be where they usually held their feeding programs, but a city ordinance made them move their operations to a different location.

After the hearing, Picone held a press conference with civil rights lawyer Randall Kallinen and trial lawyer Paul Kubosh outside the Houston Public Library. The two lawyers stated that the ordinance goes against the right to free speech, with the Texas man saying that the court hearing was a victory and said it would not stop him from feeding the homeless, according to Click2Houston.

After the press conference, Food Not Bombs continued its outreach and fed the homeless around the corner of McKinney and Smith Street in downtown Houston.

Why Did Houston Police Cite Texas Man for Feeding the Homeless?

In 2012, the city of Houston enacted regulations on who can provide free meals outdoors to those in need. This means that groups like Food Not Bombs had to get permission from property owners if they would feed more than five people. While this ordinance was passed in 2012, it was not enforced until recently.

Almost 45 of the group's volunteers, including Phillip Picone, received tickets from Houston Police last March for distributing food outside the library. However, Food Not Bombs argued that the group has been providing means near the same place without any incident.

"That was a moment last night we had been waiting for for 11 years," Food Not Bombs Volunteer Nick Cooper told the Associated Press after the first ticket was issued. "One of our volunteers actually got a ticket for this law, which gives us the opportunity to challenge it in court."

The city of Houston stated that it wanted the group to relocate its operations.

"We're going to retake the downtown central library to make it more wholesome and inviting to families and to kids," said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. "That is a major asset of the city of Houston. We have a few too many homeless folk and feeding programs in front of Central Houston."

Texas Man's Trial First of Many Between Houston and the NGO

With dozens of volunteers being cited with tickets, the Philip Picone trial was the first of many legal battles that will come between the city of Houston and volunteer groups like Food Not Bombs.

According to the Associated Press, the local Food Not Bombs chapter had filed a separate federal lawsuit against Fort Lauderdale's food-sharing rules, with the federal court finding that the group's outreach efforts were protected by the US Constitution.

Several cities have started to impose harsh anti-homeless rules to combat the rise in homelessness. However, critics often point out that these measures never really address the root cause of homelessness, and that is the rising costs of housing.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Helping the homeless in downtown Houston - KPRC 2 Click2Houston