Prosecutors offer deal to pastor who defied COVID-19 rules
The Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. A plea deal has been offered to a Louisiana pastor who was arrested after he repeatedly defied COVID-19 restrictions put in place in the early days of the pandemic.
East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore confirmed Monday that his office offered Pastor Tony Spell a deal that would allow Spell to plead no contest to one of the misdemeanor charges he faces in exchange for the five other charges being dropped, multiple news agencies reported. A no-contest plea doesn t require a person to admit guilt, but it eliminates paths to appeal criminal charges.
Prosecutors offer deal to pastor who defied COVID rules
March 2, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) A plea deal has been offered to a Louisiana pastor who was arrested after he repeatedly defied COVID-19 restrictions put in place in the early days of the pandemic.
East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore confirmed Monday that his office offered Pastor Tony Spell a deal that would allow Spell to plead no contest to one of the misdemeanor charges he faces in exchange for the five other charges being dropped, multiple news agencies reported. A no-contest plea doesn t require a person to admit guilt, but it eliminates paths to appeal criminal charges.
Court hears Tony Spellâs motion to quash charges against him for violating coronavirus restrictions Tony Spell was arrested on April 21 after video showed him backing a church bus in the direction of a protester. (Source: WAFB) By Austin Kemker | January 25, 2021 at 3:39 PM CST - Updated January 25 at 9:15 PM
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The Central pastor who claims the governorâs COVID-19 restrictions are violation of his first amendment rights skipped out on his hearing Monday.
Instead, like pastor Tony Spell has done in past hearings, he was outside the courthouse with members of his congregation.
RELATED:
The hearing was to rule on Spellâs motion to quash the six misdemeanor charges against him for violating the governorâs emergency orders. Spell held services at his Life Tabernacle Church without any capacity restrictions.