Megachurch Pastor Arrested For Hosting Illegal Church Service

BYAron A.Updated on September 26, 20222.3K Views

Phyllis Schlafly, Founder and President of the Eagle Forum, speaks at Justice Sunday II at Two Rivers Baptist Church August 14, 2005 in Nashville, Tennessee. According to organizer President of the Family Research Council Tony Perkins, Justice Sunday II, the televised rally broadcast for churches across the U.S, aims to educate evangelical Christians about the Supreme Court in an effort to get them talking to their locally elected officials about what they want from justices.

Texas officials are urging social distancing but Megachurch Pastor Brown still hosted Sunday service.

Social distancing and handwashing have been among the recommendations health officials have issued to prevent the spread of coronavirus but apparently, some are simply choosing their faith in God above all. According to TMZ, the pastor of a Megachurch in Tampa, FL has been arrested after hosting an illegal Sunday Service and violating requests for social distancing.

A warrant was issued for Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne's arrest. Hosting a service this past weekend with a large crowd at River Church, Hillsborough County Sherriff's Department caught wind that he announced he would remain open despite the possibility of community transmission of coronavirus. "The only time the church will close is when the Rapture is taking place," he announced during his sermon. The county already banned gatherings of more than 10 people with their "safer-at-home" order. On top of that, they ordered people to keep a six-feet distance from each other which Howard-Browne clearly didn't abide by.

Police arrested Pastor Howard-Browne earlier today on charges of unlawful assembly and for violating health and safety rules.

Over the weekend, it was announced that the United States has the highest amount of cases of Coronavirus in the world. Dr. Anthony Fauci estimated that there will be millions of cases in America with the death toll reaching anywhere between 100,000 to 200,000. We'll keep you posted on more updates surrounding Coronavirus.

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Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.