The Florida State Attorney that GOP Governor Ron DeSantis suspended for his woke policies had the audacity to quote the Bible in 2020 to justify the arrest of a Christian pastor holding public services.
In March 2020, Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren justified the arrest of Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne of the River Church at Tampa Bay for violating the guidelines prohibiting large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To justify the arrest, Warren declared, “Putting your parishioners at risk in a time of an emergency like this is not only reckless, but it’s illegal,” Warren declared. “I’d like to note that I think it’s unfortunate that the pastor here is hiding behind the First Amendment. … It’s absolutely clear that emergency orders like this are constitutional and valid.”
Warren then cited the Bible: “I’d remind the good pastor of Mark 12:31, which says there’s no more important commandment than to love thy neighbor as thyself. Loving your neighbors is protecting them, not jeopardizing their health by exposing them to this deadly virus.”
“It’s not about a virus; it’s about the church being a (sic) essential service to the community,” Howard-Browne had insisted.
By mid-May, Warren had changed his mind; his office announced it would not pursue the case against Howard-Browne. Still, Warren insisted that the arrest of Howard Browne “remains an appropriate step taken by law enforcement to immediately correct irresponsible behavior after repeated efforts to gain cooperation in other ways were not successful.”
“The constitution of Florida has vested the veto power in the governor, not in state attorneys,” DeSantis said. “We are not going to allow this pathogen of ignoring the law to get a foothold in the state of Florida.”
https://www.dailywire.com/news/woke-da-that-desantis-suspended-quoted-bible-to-justify-arrest-of-christian-pastor