Revival sought for pastor's lawsuit over COVID restrictions
An outspoken Christian conservative attorney from Alabama wants a federal appeals court to revive a Louisiana pastor's damage claims against state officials over long-expired COVID-19 restrictions
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An outspoken Christian conservative attorney from Alabama has asked a federal appeals court to revive a Louisiana pastor’s damage claims against state officials over long-expired COVID-19 restrictions.
A federal judge this year dismissed minister Tony Spell’s lawsuit against Gov. John Bel Edwards and others over enforcement of the ban. Spell drew national attention for his flouting of the restrictions early in the pandemic at his church in Central, near Baton Rouge.
One of Spell's attorneys is Roy Moore, the former Alabama Supreme Court justice and Senate candidate. Moore insisted in arguments this week before a panel of judges from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the state had no authority whatsoever to restrict church gatherings.
Panel members appeared skeptical of that claim in arguments recorded as they were held Monday in Fort Worth, Texas. But they raised the question of whether Spell’s church was unfairly restricted, compared with other public gathering places, such as shopping mall food courts.
