LOS ANGELES (RNS) — The same state social-distancing measures that have ensnarled Rev. John MacArthur in legal proceedings for his refusal to close his church have now delayed a reckoning for the Sun Valley, California, pastor, as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Thursday (Sept. 24) scheduled a hearing until mid-November.
County officials, in a statement, said the decision was due to the current COVID-19 restrictions.
Los Angeles County representatives requested a hearing for civil contempt against MacArthur, who has continued to hold services at his Grace Community Church despite a ban on large gatherings issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom that includes services in houses of worship.
County officials said the court can’t “adjudicate this issue now because of court rules prohibiting people from being present in the courtroom to combat the spread of the virus.”
Attorneys for MacArthur see the delay as a victory, but county officials say the church “has not been exonerated for its violations.”
“This ruling prevents Los Angeles County’s attempted rush to judgment in its continued prosecution of Pastor John MacArthur and Grace Community Church for courageously exercising their First Amendment rights,” said Charles LiMandri, special counsel for the Thomas More Society, in a statement. The More Society, based in Chicago, is a “national interest,…
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