Hillsborough pastor arrested, charged with holding church services despite COVID-19 order
A Hillsborough County pastor was arrested Monday after he intentionally and repeatedly violated orders that no gatherings of 10 or more people he held in order to stop of the spread of COVID-19 by holding services at his megachurch, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister announced Monday afternoon.
The sheriff’s office received an anonymous tip on Friday that Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne, the pastor of the megachurch River at Tampa Bay Church in Riverview, refused to stop holding mass gatherings and instead was encouraging people to come to services.
Sheriff’s office personnel and legal staff spoke with the church’s legal team in an attempt to educate them about the orders they were violating on Friday and Sunday. Members of the sheriff’s office command staff also tried to meet to with Howard-Browne over the weekend but he did not make himself available.
“His reckless disregard for human life put hundreds of people in his congregation at risk and thousands of residents who may interact with them in danger,” Chronister said.
The warrant charges the pastor with unlawful assembly and violation of public safety rules, both misdemeanors, according to Chronister.
Howard-Browne was booked into the local jail in Hernando County where he lives on Monday afternoon, and released 38 minutes later after posting bonds totaling $500.
The church has the technology in place already to stream services to its more than 4,000 members. Instead, the church, held two jam-packed services on Sunday.
Howard-Browne did not respond to a call to his cell phone on Monday afternoon.
Howard-Browne, along with his legal staff and church leaders, have downplayed the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming it is a hoax or no worse than the flu. Howard-Browne and his supporters claimed that the restrictions in place were a violation of the freedom of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment and the church was an essential business.
“Public safety is always our No. 1 priority, and make no mistake this issue is about the health and safety of our community,” State Attorney Andrew Warren said. “Putting your parishioners at risk in a time of an emergency like this, is not only reckless but it’s illegal.”
Warren, who worked with Chronister on Sunday to obtain the warrant, reminded Howard-Browne what Mark 12:31 teaches, “that there is no more important commandment than to love thy neighbor as thyself.”
“Loving neighbors is protecting them, not jeopardizing them by exposing them to this deadly virus,” Warren said.
Faith groups across the country have canceled services or switched to online-based services, including the 34th Street Church of God in Tampa, whose Bishop Thomas Scott was present in support of the sheriff’s actions on Monday.
“We need to understand how important this issue is,” Scott said. “It is also important for the religious community to govern themselves to the laws of the land. The Bible instructs us to obey the laws of the land.”
Chronister said he hoped Howard-Browne’s arrest would deter the church from holding large services next Sunday.
“Shame on this pastor, their legal staff and the leaders of the church, for forcing us to do our job. That’s not what we wanted to do during a declared state of emergency,” Chronister said.
This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Hillsborough pastor arrested, charged with holding church services despite COVID-19 order."
