Commonwealth Policy Center

California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the majority of churches to remain closed. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti then ordered that utilities be shut off to buildings where in-person gatherings were taking place. But some churches are refusing the government’s orders. Los Angeles County attorneys threatened John MacArthur, a prominent evangelical pastor with fines of up to $1,000 a day, and jail time if his church didn’t stop gathering for in-person worship services. Attorney Jenna Ellis represents the church and said “After Grace Community Church voluntarily complied with state orders for nearly six months, California’s edicts demanding an indefinite shutdown have gone now far past rational or reasonable and are firmly in the territory of tyranny and discrimination. This isn’t about health.—Ellis said It’s about blatantly targeting churches.”