The power-hungry Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam (D), famous for blackface and KKK photos on his college yearbook page, has struck again. This time it isn’t massively overreaching gun control, a push for infanticide, or higher taxes, it’s a small town church pastor in the small Trump-loving town of Chincoteague, Virginia being cited.

This was after he held a Palm Sunday service with only 16 people, a far cry from the church’s capacity. Shore Daily News reported: The U.S. Department of Justice has sided with the Lighthouse Fellowship Church in Chincoteague in a lawsuit the church filed against Gov. Ralph Northam after its pastor was cited last month. Mike Pence also spoke out on the issue, saying that it is “beyond the pale”.

“Look, even in the midst of a national emergency, every American enjoys our cherished liberties, including the freedom of religion,” Pence said on the Brian Kilmeade show Wednesday. Previously, a member of Northam’s team said that phase 1 of their Coronavirus plan in Virginia could last two years. This would of course, effectively and permanently put tens of thousands of small Virginia businesses out of operation permanently. Pence also went on to comment:

“The very idea that the Commonwealth of Virginia would sanction a church for having 16 people come to a Palm Sunday service, when I think the church actually seats about 250, was just beyond the pale, and I’m truly grateful for Attorney General William Barr standing by religious liberty,”

Shore Daily News also reported on Barr’s DOJ:

The federal lawsuit alleges the church’s pastor, Kevin Wilson, was issued a criminal citation because he held a service with 16 people on April 5.

The Justice Department’s filing, citing the lawsuit, says the church had maintained social distancing and had extensive sanitizing of common surfaces. The church said attendees had to stay 6 feet apart and use hand sanitizer before entering the building.

The Justice Department said Virginia “cannot treat religious gatherings less favorably than other similar, secular gatherings.”

Authorities allege the church violated the state’s ban on gatherings of more than 10 people.

The state was expected to file a legal brief in the lawsuit on Thursday.

Brian Kilmeade also recently tweeted about a Virginia restaurant owner who doesn’t believe Northam’s lockdown orders are fair. Ralph Northam’s hometown in Onancock, Virginia, the same county as Chincoteague. Many may wonder why Accomack has been hit harder than much bigger cities in Virginia, and speculation could arise that Northam hasn’t done enough to help the County after the Republican stronghold didn’t support him or his friends in recent elections.

“@FoxandFriends: Burger Bar owner Joe Deel says the entire state of Virginia should not be held to the same lockdown standard.” See tweet below:

"@FoxandFriends: Burger Bar owner Joe Deel says the entire state of Virginia should not be held to the same lockdown standard." https://t.co/kJjC4PuGvX

— Brian Kilmeade (@kilmeade) May 5, 2020

Governor Northam is expected to unveil Virginia’s Coronavirus phase one plans on Friday, as the state’s cases are on a much worse trajectory than many others. The state suffered late stage breakouts in poultry plants such as Accomack County where largely immigrant workers apparently spread the virus inside the plants, as has happened in some other states as well. Despite this, many people are anxious to get back to normal, as businesses and churches become desperate for some light at the end of Democrat Northam’s murky tunnel. Bill Barr’s DOJ released a full statement on the third that can be read below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sunday, May 3, 2020

The Department of Justice Files Statement of Interest in Support of Church That Ministers to Underserved Communities

The Department of Justice today filed a Statement of Interest in a Virginia federal court concerning the First Amendment’s freedom of religion in support of Lighthouse Fellowship Church (Lighthouse), a congregation in Chincoteague Island, Virginia, that serves, among others, recovering drug addicts and former prostitutes.

The Statement of Interest is part of Attorney General William P. Barr’s April 27, 2020 Initiative directing Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Eric Dreiband, and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, Matthew Schneider, to review state and local policies to ensure that civil liberties are protected during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia’s governor issued executive orders that ban in-person religious services of more than 10 people while permitting such gatherings of workers in any non-retail business and an array of retail businesses, including liquor stores, dry cleaners and department stores. Violations of the orders allow for criminal charges and carry penalties of up to a year in a jail and a $2,500 fine.

As alleged by Lighthouse, on April 5, 2020, the church held a sixteen-person worship service in its 225-seat sanctuary while maintaining rigorous social-distancing and personal-hygiene protocols. At the end of the service, the Chincoteague police department issued Lighthouse’s pastor a criminal citation and summons, based on the governor’s executive orders. Lighthouse filed suit and on Friday, the district court denied the church’s request for preliminary relief, stating in part that “[a]lthough [professional-services] businesses may not be essential, the exception crafted on their behalf is essential to prevent joblessness.”

“For many people of faith, exercising religion is essential, especially during a crisis,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division. “The Commonwealth of Virginia has offered no good reason for refusing to trust congregants who promise to use care in worship in the same way it trusts accountants, lawyers, and other workers to do the same. The U.S. Department of Justice will continue to monitor any infringement of the Constitution and other civil liberties, and we will take additional appropriate action if and when necessary.”

“As important as it is that we stay safe during these challenging times, it is also important for states to remember that we do not abandon all of our freedoms in times of emergency,” said Matthew Schneider, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, who, with Assistant Attorney General Dreiband, is overseeing the Justice Department’s effort to monitor state and local polices relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Unlawful discrimination against people who exercise their right to religion violates the First Amendment, whether we are in a pandemic or not.” 

 “The Commonwealth cannot treat religious gatherings less favorably than other similar, secular gatherings,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “As we stated in our filing, we do not take a position in this Statement on the advisability of in-person gatherings. Indeed, the proper response to the COVID-19 pandemic will vary over time, and will depend on facts on the ground.”

In its Statement of Interest, the United States explains that governments may take necessary and temporary measures to meet genuine emergencies, and that states and localities should be afforded substantial deference in their response to emergency situations such as the current pandemic. “But,” the Statement explains, “there is no pandemic exception to the Constitution and its Bill of Rights.” Because the executive orders prohibit Lighthouse’s sixteen-person, socially distanced gathering in a 225-seat church but allow similar secular conduct, such as a gathering of 16 lawyers in a large law firm conference room, the governor’s executive orders may constitute a violation of the church’s constitutional rights to the free exercise of religion.