UPDATE: Florida Pastor Arrested For Having Church Service Despite Social Distancing Order
As we previously reported, Tampa Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne has been in hot waters ever since he held service at his River Church on Sunday —- defying orders by state officials who urged folks to stay inside to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
RELATED: Florida Pastor Refuses To Close Church Doors Amid Coronavirus Social Distancing
Pastor Browne’s service that was also streamed online, showed him bragging that his River Church would remain open even despite what’s going on. He didn’t seem worried about facing any consequences at all as he told worshipers, “the only time the church will close is when the Rapture is taking place.”
Welp, according to the latest update by TMZ, looks like Browne will now be praying from the pen as he has just arrested! This comes just hours after Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Dept. issued a warrant out for his arrest this Monday. According to records obtained by the news site, Pastor Browne was wanted for unlawful assembly.
As we previously noted, the county had already issued a “safer-at-home” order banning gatherings of no more than 10 people. Browne was clearly way over that amount which means he violated the guidelines. The rule also stated that people were not to stand within 6 feet of one another — another clear violation in the video from the church’s service.
In addition to unlawful assembly, he was also booked for violating health and safety rules.
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