An actual activist-protester who had been harassing him for a long time and had tried to attack him with garbage lawsuits, got all up in his 12 year old son's face shouting obscenities and got pushed away. Apparently, the activist seen the opportunity to play the victim and finally get preacher-man.

That does sound like this is a bullshit charge, not terribly surprising that someone would try to spin a story like this I suppose, thanks for pointing out the facts.

This was a nice wannabe-preacher guy who talked to people, not some protester or activist.

Well idk about that, hanging around outside of abortion clinics and haranguing people with your beliefs sounds a whole lot like protest/activism to me (albeit legal and protected), even if he isn't associated with a particular activist group.

The order also bans Houck from contacting any witnesses to the alleged crimes That's now how you permit someone to defend themselves at trial....barring them from seeking any exculpatory evidence.

This does sound like it should be illegal. A wise person would hire an attorney who would hire an investigator to talk to the witnesses, but the law is supposed to grant people the right to defend themselves if they so choose