Man jailed for refusing to remove fez in court

DOUGLASVILLE - A member of a Moorish sect who was jailed for two days after refusing a judge&#39;s order to remove his fez was set free Thursday. <br> <br> Douglas County Judge Donald Howe released Richard Morris Haines Bey of Austell after receiving protests from the American Civil Liberties Union. <br> <br> Bey was in court Tuesday for a child support hearing but was told by Howe to leave when he refused to remove the fez, which Howe said must be taken off for security reasons. After standing outside in the hallway, Bey was subsequently jailed for failure to appear when his case was called. <br> <br> Howe did not mention the fez incident Thursday when he granted bond to Bey and set another child-support hearing next month. <br> <br> The head of Bey&#39;s temple, Rashim Barael Bey, who is not related to the defendant, wore a red fez with a black tassel as he appeared in Howe&#39;s court ``to lend support to a brother falsely imprisoned because of our way of life.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The fez ``is a symbol given to us by the Prophet to show our obedience to God,&#39;&#39; said Rashim Bey, chairman of the 18-member First Afro-Centric Temple in Atlanta. <br> <br> A woman who answered the phone in Howe&#39;s office said the judge had instructed her to tell reporters that he would not speak about the incident. <br> <br> Richard Bey&#39;s attorney, Kathryn Jaconetti, said his family was considering a lawsuit, but Ralph Goldberg, an ACLU lawyer, said the issue may have been resolved with Bey&#39;s release from jail.