Less than a week after President Biden signed a Republican bill that officially ended America’s Covid emergency, a U.S. court has sent a reminder that the assault on freedom is not over.
Superior Court Judge Evette Pennypacker ordered Calvary Chapel San Jose to pay $1.2 million in fines after it failed to follow Covid restrictions put in place by Santa Clara County between August 2020 and January 2021. The church maintains that the requirements violated their religious freedom.
The Daily Wire has the story.
“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. “Unfortunately, [the] 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 church will appeal the ruling, according to church attorney Mariah Gondeiro. “We look forward to establishing more precedent on appeal that will have far greater implications for the future,” she said.
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