A California judge has ordered San Jose’s Calvary Chapel church to pay $1.2 million in fines for defying COVID-19 pandemic restrictions by meeting for worship and not requiring masks.Â
In a ruling handed down last week, Superior Court Judge Evette D. Pennypacker said the church should pay fines for flagrantly violating Santa Clara County’s mask mandate between November 2020 and June 2021. The court found that the county’s face covering requirement was “neutral and generally applicable” to all similarly situated entities in the county, rejecting the church’s argument that the health orders violated their religious freedoms.
“It should appear clear to all – regardless of religious affiliation – that wearing a mask while worshiping one’s god and communing with other congregants is a simple, unobtrusive, giving way to protect others while still exercising your right to religious freedom,” Pennypacker wrote in a 32-page order.Â
“Unfortunately, Defendants repeatedly refused to model, much less, enforce this gesture. Instead, they repeatedly flouted their refusal to comply with the Public Health Orders and urged others to do so ‘who cares what the cost,’ including death,” the judge said.
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Calvary was one of several large California evangelical churches that flouted state and local mask-wearing and social distancing rules designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during its deadliest period.
The church has been entangled in a years-long legal fight with the county. Mariah Gondeiro, an attorney with Advocates for Faith & Freedom, which is representing Calvary Chapel, has argued the masking orders were unconstitutional because they were not applied equally.
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