Last week, Pastor Tony Spell, head of the Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was arrested and charged with six misdemeanor counts of defying a governor’s executive order after holding church services in spite of state orders from Gov. John Bel Edwards to limit crowds. Each count was for one religious service Spell held after Edwards banned groups of more than 50 people, as reported by The Daily Beast. As reported by Reuters, Spell was back at it on Sunday and held services again, this time reportedly drawing more than1,200 people in spite of the stay-at-home order and ongoing pandemic.
Police charged the pastor when he was arrested on Tuesday, March 31. This shouldn’t have come as a huge shock, given that, as Daily Kos previously covered, he defied the ban by holding services for hundreds of people who were brought in using dozens of buses. According to CBS News, Spell claims his church is cleaned on a daily basis, and that attendees did practice social distancing by standing six feet apart. They did not, however, wear masks.
“They would rather come to church and worship like free people than live like prisoners in their homes,” Spell said on Sunday. He also reportedly told attendees they had “nothing to fear but fear itself.”
“We derive our inalienable rights from God, not any government,” Spell told CBS in an email interview on Monday.
“They’re just afraid there’s not going to be enough money in the collection plate,” Bobbye McInnis, who lives by the church, told Reuters.
Unsurprisingly, Spell—who once told a local outlet he believes the virus is “politically motivated”—plans to sue. On what grounds? As Spell’s spokesperson, attorney Joe Long, explained to Reuters, Spell believes the governor’s order violates the constitutional rights to freedom of religion, as well as the freedom to peaceably assemble.
The pastor of a Florida megachurch, Rodney Howard-Browne, was arrested last week as well. Howard-Browne, mindblowingly, not only held a packed service but live-streamed the evidence on the church’s Facebook page. His charges include violating public health rules and unlawful assembly.
It’s understandable that for people of faith, connecting with religious communities and leaders can be especially helpful during a public health crisis. What to do? Go virtual. And use positions of power and community to encourage people to take the pandemic seriously.
