TAKING SIDES

Justice Department Defends Virginia Church Fined for Holding 16-Person Service

Pastor Kevin Wilson was cited for holding an Easter service with 16 worshipers despite the statewide ban on gatherings of more than 10 people.

The Justice Department is throwing its support behind a lawsuit filed by a Virginia church whose pastor received a citation for holding an in-person church service in defiance of the statewide stay-at-home order. The department filed a “statement of interest” in a Virginia federal court, arguing that the Lighthouse Fellowship Church congregation was protected by the First Amendment’s freedom of religion. Pastor Kevin Wilson held an in-house service at the church on Palm Sunday, attracting 16 worshippers despite the statewide ban on gatherings of more than 10 people amid the coronavirus pandemic. Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband argued in a statement that the state “has offered no good reason for refusing to trust congregants who promise to use care in worship in the same way it trusts accountants, lawyers, and other workers to do the same.”