The Louisiana pastor under fire for allegedly holding church services in violation of state coronavirus restrictions filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court this week, seeking relief from criminal charges brought against him, according to a new report.
The petition, filed Wednesday by Life Tabernacle Church pastor Tony Spell, claimed that Gov. John Bel Edwards’ order banning large gatherings violated his First Amendment rights, Fox News reported. It is directed at conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who presides over the Fifth Circuit, which covers Louisiana.
“The State has shown a shocking and unprecedented commitment to criminally prosecuting its strongest dissenter in violation of one of the First Amendment’s most precious guarantees: the right of a church, which by definition is an assembly, to decide whether to assemble or not,” the filing states.
Since the start of the pandemic, Spell has been charged with nine crimes — one a felony for allegedly backing up a church bus in the direction of a protester, and several misdemeanor counts for violating the governor’s orders, according to the filing obtained by Fox News.
Last week, a federal judge in Baton Rouge dismissed a lawsuit by Spell challenging Edwards’ restrictions on church services that have since been loosened, according to the Associated Press.
Spell’s decision to continue holding church services in the spring, despite the ban on large gatherings, captured national headlines.
In April, he was arrested for holding a service for more than 100 congregants at the Baton Rouge church — telling them God would protect them from the coronavirus.
“Shouldn’t nobody be scared right now but the devil,” the defiant pastor said on a livestream of the service posted on Facebook by Central City News. “God gave you an immune system to kill that virus.
“Come out of your hiding, America. Worship like free people.”