Just weeks after participating in a massive Black Lives Matter movement, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti authorized the city to shut off the power and water to homes, businesses and other properties that hold “unauthorized” large gatherings.
The Los Angeles Mayor will *cut off water and electricity* to homes hosting large gatherings without masks.
Yet here’s the same mayor at a crowded protest not wearing a mask.
One set of rules for liberals and another for the rest of us. pic.twitter.com/A3xRWRhTkY
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) August 6, 2020
Garcetti claimed that law enforcement officers are having a difficult time shutting down gatherings where there are hundreds of people “breaking the law” by being together.
“By turning off that power, shutting off that water we feel we can close these places down, which usually are not one-time offenders but multiple-offenders,” Garcetti said.
This new order could affect Grace Community Church, a megachurch led by Pastor John MacArthur, because it has defied the governor’s executive orders not to hold indoor worship services and not to sing.
The state has already threatened to slap the church with daily $1,000 fines, and officials have warned MacArthur that he could be arrested if he continues to hold services.
But MacArthur has not backed down and instead hired legal representation to fight California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “unconstitutional” restrictions.
“The state has absolutely no power to impose the restrictions it is demanding,” Jenna Ellis, one of the attorneys representing the church, and one of President Donald Trump’s legal team members, said in a statement. “This is not about health and safety, it is about targeting churches.”
Los Angeles is not the only city in the country passing extreme restrictions. In Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner on Monday announced that his city will slap $250 fines on individuals who are caught not wearing a face mask while in public.
And in Chicago, residents who travel to “coronavirus hotspots” are required to self-isolate for 14 days or face fines of between $100 and $500 a day.
