Police officers conducting a raid on a drive-in church in Greenville, Mississippi have told the pastor that their “rights have been suspended,” by order of the governor.
King James Bible Baptist Church was holding a service on Thursday evening which allowed the congregation to sit in their vehicles in the church car park and listen as Pastor Charles Hamilton preached.
“We’ve had 20 police cars come to the church, on church property, trying to tell us we can’t have a service,” Pastor Hamilton said during a Facebook live stream.
“If you all don’t wake up America– the police told me, our freedom can be revoked. He said he doesn’t care what the Constitution says… When you say you don’t care what the Constitution says, you’re violating the law of the land yourself,” Pastor Hamilton added.
Jeremy Dys, Frist Liberty Institute, who is representing Pastor Hamilton told a local news outlet the police are violating the church’s constitutional rights.
“They park in their parking spaces, they keep their windows up, doors closed and they never get out of their cars as the CDC recommends…
“Look, there’s no exception to the United States Constitution for a pandemic,” Mr Dys said. “What Mayor Simmons has done is to apply an order without regard to equality, and he’s singled out churches, in particular.”
The City of Greenville put in place an Executive Order banning all church buildings closed for in-person and drive-in services.
Greenville Police officers also raided Temple Baptist Church who were conducting a similar drive-in church service the previous day. Police issued $500 fines to the entire congregation, most of whom were elderly, without any access to smartphones or the internet.