Kentucky State Police recorded the license plate numbers of those who attended in-person church services on Easter Sunday.
Maryville Baptist Church hosted a service for 50 worshipers on Easter Sunday in violation of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order barring public gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic. Pastor Jack Roberts, the leader of the church, said he did not tell his members to break the law or to follow it.
“Everybody has to do what they feel comfortable with,” Roberts told the Courier-Journal.
In response to the service, Beshear ordered state police to record the license plates of those who attended the service and had officers place notices on the windshield of each car, mandating that each worshiper enter a 14-day quarantine after attending the service. Most members, however, told the Courier-Journal that they would not abide by the order.
Many have been critical of the church’s decision to hold the service. Prior to the 11 a.m. worship, volunteers were called to the church to clean up buckets of nails and other sharp objects that vandals had poured over the parking lot in hopes of popping the tires of those who attended.
It was a strange Easter service at Maryville Baptist today. Even by health pandemic standards. #coronavirus https://t.co/eBg6500QfY pic.twitter.com/zFSZnUwCAl
— Scott Utterback (@Utterback13) April 12, 2020
I’m at Maryville Baptist Church, which continues to hold in-person services despite orders to cease . This morning, piles of nails have been scattered at every entrance. pic.twitter.com/WcxkqtVZQw
— Sarah Ladd (@ladd_sarah) April 12, 2020
Putting notices on every car, even those belonging to the press and media pic.twitter.com/2LEtzkM7zf
— Sarah Ladd (@ladd_sarah) April 12, 2020
Kentucky State Police Sgt. Josh Lawson noted that the governor had ordered him to record the license plates of those who attended the services but did not say whether the churchgoers would face punishment. The governor’s order indicated that attendees would receive notice that “such a gathering will be notified it is a misdemeanor violation of the emergency orders,” but it’s unclear if they will face charges.
Lawson said Maryville Baptist was the only church being hit with the quarantine orders, adding that five others were reported for hosting events but were found to be compliant because they were holding outdoor, drive-up services.
“We’re responding to those calls as we would any other calls for service. As of now, we have not found anyone to be in violation when we responded to those calls. They are following the proper guidelines,” Lawson explained.
While it isn’t clear what will be done with the license plate numbers gathered by state police outside of quarantine orders, the mayor of Louisville, Greg Fischer, proposed using the information to notify members if someone at the service later tests positive for the COVID-19 virus.
Roberts believes that the state does not have the authority to block in-person services. After holding a service on Wednesday, the pastor said, “If you read the Constitution of the United States, if you read the constitution of the state of Kentucky, they both say that [Beshear] is infringing on the church’s rights.”
A number of churches throughout the nation have continued holding in-person gatherings during the pandemic. Some churchgoers have even been arrested or fined for attending the services.
As of Sunday, Kentucky had more than 1,800 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 94 related deaths.
