A personal lawyer to President Donald Trump has been retained by high-profile pastor John MacArthur and his Grace Community Church in a COVID-19 fight with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the City of Los Angeles. Grace Community Church has defied government health mandates that prohibit large gatherings to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus and now faces $1,000-per-day fines by the City of Los Angeles and possible arrest of MacArthur, according to an Aug. 5 news release by the church and its legal team. On May 29, the United States Supreme Cour t ruled 5-4 that churches could not be exempted from the statewide mandate against mass gatherings that includes churches and other performance or event venues. Soon thereafter, on July 24, the Grace Church elder board issued a declaration that the Southern California megachurch would defy the government order and meet for worship anyway. “We cannot and will not acquiesce to a government-imposed moratorium on our weekly congregational worship or other regular corporate gatherings,” the elders said. “Compliance would be disobedience to our Lord’s clear commands.” Photos of public worship at Grace Church since that date have shown congregants without face masks and without social distancing. These […]
