Judge Denies L.A. County’s 4th Attempt to Shut Down John MacArthur’s Church

A California judge declined on Tuesday to issue an order shutting down Grace Community Church, handing pastor John MacArthur his third recent victory in a much-followed legal battle against Los Angeles County.

The county had hoped Judge Mitchell Beckloff would issue a temporary restraining order prohibiting the congregation from meeting indoors during the pandemic. Instead, the judge pointed to a previous decision by a higher court, the state Court of Appeal, which he said refused to issue a temporary restraining order against the church.

State and local health restrictions prohibit churches from meeting indoors.

“The court has no authority to take the action requested by Plaintiffs,” Beckloff wrote.

Beckloff also noted the county has “elected not to punish Defendants’ alleged violation of the County Health Order ‘by fine, imprisonment or both.’” Although Los Angeles County’s next move isn’t known, at least one other California county – Santa Clara County – fined a church $10,000 for not complying with health orders.

It was the third victory for Grace Community at the trial court level. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Sept 4. Although a mid-August appeals court decision was viewed at the time as a win for the county, Beckloff said the appeals court declined to grant the county what it requested.

“It is deeply disappointing that the Court…