Police Raid Church's Drive-In Service, Issue $500 Tickets to Entire Congregation

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Police in Greenville, Mississippi raided the parking lot of Temple Baptist Church during a drive-in prayer service and issued $500 fines to everyone in attendance – including many elderly congregants.

Pastor Arthur Scott told the Todd Starnes Radio Show that he was astonished by the actions of the police department and the mayor’s office.

“One of the police officers said the mayor wanted to make an example of our church,” the pastor said. “I told them to get some more tickets ready because we will be preaching Sunday morning and Sunday night.”

“We’ve been doing it for three weeks,” he said.

But Mayor Errick Simmons and the city council that banned churches from hosting drive-in services.

The City of Greenville put in place an Executive Order that orders all church buildings closed for in person and drive in church services, until the State of Mississippi’s Shelter In Place Executive Order No. 1466 is lifted by Governor Tate Reeves. Churches are strongly encouraged to hold services via Facebook Live, Zoom, Free Conference Call, and any and all other social media, streaming, and telephonic platforms,” the order read.

Scott, who has pastored the small church for 45 years, said that most of the congregation is elderly and they don’t have access to smartphones.

So church leaders decided to rig up a radio frequency where congregants could sit in their cars and listen as the pastor delivered the message from the pulpit. In other words, the church was in compliance with social distancing rules.

“The police officer said I might go to jail,” the elderly pastor said on the radio show. “If it means going to jail and if it takes that for me to keep preaching, I’ll be glad to go to jail.”

The pastor said as many as 25 cars were in the parking lot for the service and everyone was ticketed.

Video shows police officers disrupting the service by knocking on the doors of every car. Church members were ordered to turn over their driver’s licenses. They were then issued a fine and a court summons.

“I just can’t believe it,” the pastor told me. “I tried to talk to the mayor. I’ve been here 45 years and I’ve never been to the city council. I’ve never complained. I’ve never stirred up a stink. But I told him I’m going to fight them on this.”

https://www.toddstarnes.com/faith/watch-police-raid-churchs-drive-in-service-issue-500-tickets-to-entire-congregation/

[patricia92243]

1. Too much. They were in their cars. Leave them alone.

[Initech]

2. I don't get this one.

If the church members were sitting in their cars with the doors locked, how is that violating the rules?

[SoCalNative]

4. If churches are not considered essential businesses

then it doesn't matter where the congregants are. They are not supposed to be attending public gatherings.

[pnwmom]

8. But shouldn't the regs be based on common sense? They're sitting separately in their cars.

How are they putting others at risk?

[SoCalNative]

9. If people are not supposed to be outside the home

except to get essential supplies then this should be a no-brainer. They aren't supposed to be going anywhere except to essential businesses or for medical appointments. Last time I checked the invisible sky fairy was neither essential nor a doctor.

[stopdiggin]

12. but that's where you're wrong.

There is no prohibition for leaving your house for anything short of essential services. (and I realize that different states and jurisdictions, etc. ...)

That being said .. the council and police provided warning of the ruling and their intention to enforce .. and the pastor and congregants deliberately went against it .. not a great deal of sympathy for this kind of behavior

[pnwmom]

14. Last I checked people couldn't catch the coronavirus through their car windows or doors.

The purpose of the social distancing is to protect people.

Why shouldn't this be allowed?

Social distancing won't succeed unless most people comply voluntarily, and if the regulations don't clearly increase safety, that will make it less likely for people to comply.

[Igel]

10. Regulations very seldom depend on common sense.

Rules are rules, and if you don't have zero tolerance there'll be *some* bias, however small, that can be claimed to be pervasive.

And if it's zero-tolerance, then it's already insane, not just because zero is a very hard number to actually get to, but because it leads to foolish enforcement.

It's like driving on the left side of the road on the Jersey Turnpike at 3 a.m. when there's no traffic visible in either direction. It's illegal, stay on the right is the rule so the left lane is free for emergency vehicles and cars to pass. But people got pulled over by bored cops for it when I lived there years ago, and I assume they still do.

[ck4829]

3. This is Todd Starnes, the guy who said Democrats worship Moloch... What's NOT being said here?

https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/robert-jeffress-democrats-worship-the-demon-god-moloch/

[Arkansas Granny]

5. I think they carried this one too far. If they were staying in their cars

and not face to face it wouldn't be any different than being in a grocery store parking lot. Now they can claim religious persecution.

[bullwinkle428]

6. I want some confirmation from a genuine news source; not some right-wing whack-job. I

already attempted a Google search on this, and came up with nothing.

[Igel]

11. It's not a big deal.

There are some hits, but it's unclear that they constitute independent sources.

[gibraltar72]

7. That's almost what I remember as a teenager at my local drive in.

But cops were not there because of a scourge. The drive in hired off duty cops to see exactly how much fun we were having.

[TheBlackAdder]

13. Did they get an FCC permit to transmit?

.

Part 15 Devices

Unlicensed operation on the AM and FM radio broadcast bands is permitted for some extremely low powered devices covered under Part 15 of the FCC's rules. On FM frequencies, these devices are limited to an effective service range of approximately 200 feet (61 meters). See 47 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Section 15.239, and the July 24, 1991 Public Notice (still in effect). On the AM broadcast band, these devices are limited to an effective service range of approximately 200 feet (61 meters). See 47 CFR Sections 15.207, 15.209, 15.219, and 15.221. These devices must accept any interference caused by any other operation, which may further limit the effective service range.

For more information on Part 15 devices, please see OET Bulletin No. 63 ("Understanding the FCC Regulations for Low-Power, Non-Licensed Transmitters&quot . Questions not answered by this Bulletin can be directed to the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology, Customer Service Branch, at the Columbia, Maryland office, phone (301) 362 - 3000.

Penalties for Operation Without A Permit or License

The Commission considers unauthorized broadcast operation to be a serious matter. Presently, the maximum penalty for operating an unlicensed or "pirate" broadcast station (one which is not permitted under Part 15 or is not a Carrier Current Station or Campus Radio Station) is set at $10,000 for a single violation or a single day of operation, up to a total maximum amount of $75,000.

Adjustments may be made upwards or downwards depending on the circumstances involved. Equipment used for an unauthorized operation may also be confiscated. There are also criminal penalties (fine and/or imprisonment) for "willfully and knowingly" operating a radio station without a license. DON'T DO IT!

Free Speech vs. Right to Broadcast

A number of inquiries received at the Commission are from persons or groups who believe that there is a First Amendment, constitutionally protected right to broadcast. However, the Supreme Court of the United States has repeatedly ruled on this subject and concluded that no right to broadcast exists.

"Quiet Spots" on the Dial

The fact that there are locations on a radio tuning dial which do not receive a broadcast station, does not necessarily indicate that a station can be added on that frequency. A station's signal on the same frequency or an adjacent frequency that is too distant or weak to be picked up by a radio receiver can still cause interference to other broadcast stations. For this reason, the Commission's rules require that stations located very close in frequency be located in different communities separated by some physical distance, so as to limit any potential interference.

Before it can be determined whether any "quiet spot" could support a broadcast station, the interested individual or group would need to have an engineering study performed to determine whether the frequency can actually be used. The Commission does not have the resources to perform such searches for potential applicants. Interested parties may want to retain a broadcast consulting engineer to determine what options exist, incorporating factors not under the Commission's jurisdiction (such as environmental and land use limitations, property availability, zoning, and airspace considerations).

https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/low-power-radio-general-information#LPFM

.

[Crabby Appleton]

16. the listeners would not need

any sort of permission to listen to a broadcast.

off to my ignore list you go

[TheBlackAdder]

17. No, but the pastor would. If you read the question, it said to transmit, not receive.

[Nitram]

15. This was a stupid law enforcement action. People can't infect each other when they are in their cars

with their windows up. I don't go to church, and I don't pray, but perhaps these people need the comfort their religious community provides.