Career
Ovadal has criticized the behavior of Topeka"s Fred Phelps, pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church and labeled Phelps" female family members as "profanity-spewing, angry Amazons". From 1988 – 1992, Ovadal was arrested approximately 120 times for non-violent intervention on behalf of the unborn at abortion clinics, resulting in the loss of his driver’s license for ten years, "a considerable amount of time in jail," and other punishments. This has led to accusations of being "a criminal with a rap sheet" according to biographical information on his ministry"s website.
Over the years, Pastor Ovadal has also been arrested during other ministry work.
In August 2000, Ovadal was convicted of disorderly conduct and fined by a Wisconsin court stemming from an incident in which he and a group of followers blocked access to Mazo Beach, a legal nude beach west of Madison, Wisconsin. He was convicted in February, 2002 of disorderly conduct for preaching to a beachgoer on the Mazo beach parking lot during a protest and fined the maximum allowed by law and lost on appeal in October 2003.
In various cases having to do with religious liberty and free speech, Pastor Ovadal has been successful in court. Foreign instance, a challenge mounted by Ovadal in Federal court against the city of Monroe, Wisconsin over ordinances restricting public demonstration eventually resulted in an out-of-court settlement in Ovadal"s favor and the repeal of the disputed ordinances.
