Fri Mar 10, 2023 – 8:42 pm EST
SAN JOSE, California (LifeSiteNews) — Members of a Christian church in California’s Santa Clara County were hit with hefty fines and surveilled via stakeouts, cell phone monitoring, and other measures “reminiscent of totalitarian regimes” after their church defied the county’s draconian COVID-19 lockdown rules in 2020, according to a March 5 report by independent journalist David Zweig.
San Jose’s Calvary Christian Fellowship, headed by pastor Mike McClure, openly defied the Silicon Valley county’s harsh lockdown rules in May 2020 after initially complying with them, Zweig reported.
“After two months of isolation, many congregants were teetering toward despair,” Zweig said, noting that the church’s decision to buck the county’s mandate to lock down provided congregants with much-needed “mental, spiritual, and physical” assistance.
The Christian community’s defiance of the COVID mandates soon made it a thorn in the county’s side.
Santa Clara reportedly began slamming the church with fine after fine for such violations as failure to social distance, to wear masks, and even failure to comply with the county’s rules against singing.
RELATED: California churches fined thousands for singing, gathering in person
Zweig said the county ended up “levying
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