On Tuesday, Baton Rouge police officers arrested a pastor on an assault charge after he admitted that he drove his church bus toward a man who has been protesting the pastors’ decision to hold Sunday services. The pastor’s services violated the public health orders steaming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The authorities in Central, a suburb of Louisiana’s state capital Baton Rouge, posted on their Facebook page that Pastor Tony Spell of the Life Tabernacle Church was arrested after turning himself in. Spell is being charged with aggravated assault and improper backing.
Spell was transported to the East Baton Rouge Parish jail, as 70 of his parishioners, dressed in their Sunday best, arrived at the prison for support, gathering in the parking lot across the street, singing church hymns and praying as they stood side by side.
Spell was released from jail to cheers from his supporters after his wife posted his $175.00 bond.
” My rights to have church and to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ are endowed to me by my creator, not my district attorney, not my chief of police and not my governor, John Bel Edwards,” Spell said. “Not my president and not my Department of Justice.”
Spell’s arrest occurred the same day the East Baton Rouge Parish had reported the death toll in Baton Rogue had reached over 100.
Trey Bennett, the man Spell is accused of assaulting, showed up to the jail, holding a sign that read, “Close this church” on one side and “Danger: coronavirus incubator” on the other.
One Spell supporter shouted at Bennett, “Our church will never close, you get that?”
Spell said in a telephone interview with WAFB-TV on Monday that he reversed his church bus in Bennett’s direction, but he just wanted to get out and confront Bennett. He revealed that he was talked out of it by his wife.
Spell is already facing misdemeanor charges for violating the state’s stay-at-home order. Local authorities said Spell wasn’t booked on those charges because they didn’t want to add to the jail’s population during the virus outbreak.
One of Spell’s parishioners, Nathan Thomas, also faces charges of aggravated assault and reckless operation of a vehicle after driving his white pickup truck within a foot of Bennett as he stood on the roadside.
Thomas drove at high speed toward Bennett, then slammed on his brakes right before turning into the church parking lot. Thomas is scheduled to turn himself into the authorities later today.
Bennett said he was used to the verbal altercations from Spell and his parishioners, but was “shocked” to see the attempt assault.
The two incidents were captured on film and reviewed by The Associated Press. They show the church bus driven by Spell making a sharp turn and then backing up in the opposite direction of traffic within a few feet of Bennett before coming to a stop. The second video shows Thomas’ white pickup truck swerving within about a foot of Bennett’s body.
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