Ralph Northam, the white Democrat Virginia governor whom the media allow to dress up like an African-American, has attracted the notice of the Justice Department.
DOJ is siding with a Virginia church suing Gov. Northam after police threatened a pastor with jail time or a $2,500 fine for daring to hold a 16-person service on Palm Sunday.
The church service was in violation of the state’s coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
Police in protective garb served the summons to Kevin Wilson, pastor of Lighthouse Fellowship Church on Chincoteague Island, for conducting a service on April 5. The participants were spaced far apart in a church that could hold 293 people.
“The Commonwealth of Virginia 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,” the DOJ said in a statement of interest obtained by Fox News on May 3.
Mat Staver, the chairman and founder of Liberty Counsel, accused Northam of discrimination and violating the First Amendment.
“As important as it is that we stay safe during these challenging times, it is also important for states to remember that we do not abandon all of our freedoms in times of emergency,” Matthew Schneider, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said in a statement.
Across the country, law enforcement has been cracking down on religious congregations. Many Americans are growing restless with state lockdown restrictions, which appear to disregard personal freedom, the health of businesses and actual facts about the coronavirus.
