SCHENECTADY — A federal judge has ruled that officials had no right to remove and arrest a man preaching on Schenectady County Community College’s campus two years ago.

Gregory S. Davis, who has a ministry called Campus Missionaries to America, was preaching the Gospel and handing out religious literature in the quad area of the college on Sept. 8, 2006. Davis was videotaping his activities in case he was accused of wrongdoing and to have a video record to pray for certain people, according to court documents.

A female student complained to school officials and Michael D’Annibale, assistant dean for administration, asked Davis to stop preaching in the quad, which is the landscaped area in front of Gateway, Begley, Stockade and Elston buildings.

Davis refused and he was arrested. He was initially charged with criminal trespass but that charge was dropped and he was later charged with a violation level offense of trespass that was ultimately dismissed nine months after his arrest.

Davis filed a federal lawsuit in October 2006, claiming that the college violated his First Amendment rights. Davis had named SCCC, D’Annibale, Mayor Brian U. Stratton and former police chief Michael Geraci Sr. as parties in the lawsuit. SCCC was later dropped from the action.

U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence E. Kahn ruled in Albany last week that Davis’ activities were permitted and “SCCC had no on-point regulation by which Davis could be removed from campus.”

The college had argued that Davis was on private property and preaching on the quad obstructed traffic. It was also was concerned that he could have videotaped children at the college’s nearby day care and could benefit financially from the videotaping of students.

Kahn found all of the arguments without merit. He said the quad is a public space and there is no evidence that Davis benefited financially from these videotapes, which are used in his religious ministry.

“Although plaintiff’s right to videotape his activities may not have been a clearly established right at the time of plaintiff’s teaching, his right to be present on the public grounds, to preach, and to hand out leaflets, were all clearly established,” Kahn wrote.

Last week on Sept. 9, Kahn granted Davis’ motion for summary judgment — effectively ending the case before it went to trial. The ruling prohibits SCCC from limiting Davis’ speech.

Davis said by telephone Monday that he was “delighted” with the judge’s decision and said this was a victory for freedom of religion and freedom of speech.

“I thought he ruled properly on every point, shot down the arguments that the defendants had made against me,” he said.

Davis plans to return to SCCC — with his video camera — late this month or in early October when he makes another tour of the Northeast.

Davis said he had a similar run-in with Ulster County Community College, which eventually set up a free speech zone in the parking lot for him to preach.

He said he is upset with “the discrimination and intolerance of these colleges, which are supposed to be open-minded, but are not very open to the Gospel and the preachers that come on there.”

Davis has been traveling around the country preaching on colleges and universities since 2001. He and his wife Amy live in a motor home and work out of local Baptist churches, according to the Web site.

College spokeswoman Heather Meaney said the college was technically not a party to the lawsuit so it had no official comment. It is reviewing its rules regarding speech on campus but has no specific proposals at this point. She said Davis has been on campus a couple times since, without incident.

City Corporation Counsel L. John Van Norden said the city did not have much to do with this case. He said the key issue was Davis’ videotaping.

“It’s really an issue without a lot of legal precedent — particularly in this day and age when people are very sensitive to having their photographs taken,” he said.

Since Davis did not seek any damages, the case just established the rules where Davis is allowed to preach. He said challenging colleges to allow him to do his preaching is a big part of his ministry.

“If you look at some of his videos, he really does kind of push the envelope a little bit. He’s pretty aggressive,” Van Norden said.