SAN DIEGO (CN) - The City of San Diego unconstitutionally raided and threatens to close the Pacific Beach Unified Methodist Church for feeding the homeless, the hungry and the poor on Wednesday nights, its Pastor April Herron claim in Federal Court.
The church claims the illegal Oct. 31 raid was carried out to intimidate the church and prevent it from fulfilling its mission. It claims communication with the defendant City Attorney and City Council established that only Pacific Beach Unified Methodist was being targeted for discriminatory enforcement of laws, and that it was singled out because it fed the hungry.
Pastor Herron says the City's unconstitutional acts force her and her congregation to choose: "Should they follow their faith and continue to worship as God commands, risking fine, jail, (and) closure of the Church, or follow the mandates of a city bureaucrat for no apparent reason, risking eternal damnation?"
Plaintiffs claim the defendants illegally singled them out for discriminatory enforcement of code regulations to chill their constitutionally protected speech and acts.
Plaintiffs are represented by Robert Scott Dreher. See complaint.
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