Having failed to shut down Pastor John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church through executive orders and lawsuits, Los Angeles County said it will prevent the church from using a parking lot that it has leased for 45 years, according to Liberty Counsel.
The LA County Department of Public Works sent a letter to Grace on Aug. 28. The department said the church must discontinue use of the parking lot by Oct. 1.
“If Grace fails to vacate the premise as required, the District may enter the premises and remove Grace’s personal property in accordance with the Agreement and applicable law, and Grace will be responsible for any resultant expenses incurred by the District,” the public works department threatened.
In response to the letter, MacArthur discussed the purpose of the church and the reason he decided to fight against California Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s unconstitutional, anti-Christian mandates.
“Our church is not an event center,” he said.
“It is a family of lives who love and care for each other in very intensely personal ways,” he continued. “So [it was] essential to personal well-being that people rushed back as soon as they could.”
Newsom, without just authority, declared indoor church services to be illegal, while supporting protests in Los Angeles County that drew more than 100,000 people.
“The utter [sic] unnecessary deprivation of all our people by completely shutting down the mutual love and care that sustains our people in all the exigencies, pressures and challenges of life, was cruel,” MacArthur said.
The Thomas More Society represents Grace in ongoing lawsuits. There will be a court hearing on Sept. 4.
Jenna Ellis, a special counsel at TMS, called the county’s actions “harassment, abusive, and unconscionable,” the Washington Times reported.
“Los Angeles County is retaliating against Grace Community Church for simply exercising their constitutionally protected right to hold church and challenging an unreasonable, unlawful health order,” she said.
