Florida Megachurch Pastor Arrested For Ignoring Social-Distancing Order, Held Packed Church Service Instead

Florida pastor, Rodney Howard-Browne, has been arrested and charged with unlawful assembly and violating health and safety rules.

According to @tmz, the controversial pastor stated the only time the church would close is when the rapture is taking place.

According to AP news, the pastor held two church services, packed with hundreds of people.

Pastor Howard-Browne turned himself in and his bail was set at $500, according to the jail’s website.

In a press conference, the Sheriff stated, “Shame on this pastor, their legal staff and the leaders of this staff for forcing us to do our job. That’s not what we wanted to do during a declared state of emergency,” Chronister said. “We are hopeful that this will be a wakeup call.”

At the moment, there is an order of no crowds larger than 10 can gather. But Pastor Howard-Browne feels this is blown out of proportion.

“In a Facebook post, Howard-Browne said coronavirus “is blown totally way out of proportion.”

Also, on March 18 the church deemed itself as essential services and would keep its doors opened.

According to MSN, Howard-Browne is also a Trump ally. He claims to have machines that can stop the coronavirus. It’s also alleged that he stated he could cure the entire state of Florida himself.

This pastor is no stranger to controversy. He’s known for making outlandish statements, according to reports.

More than 2,000 people have died from the viral pandemic, according to NPR.

As of Sunday afternoon, more than 2,300 people in the U.S. have died from the virus and more than 135,000 people in the U.S. have been infected, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

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