California pastor Mike McClure is refusing to shutter his church despite a wave of coronavirus regulations he says subvert the nation's founding principles. "I think the shutdowns are an absolute violation of the centrality of our liberty -- and that is the freedom to believe, the freedom to express our belief, [and] the freedom to worship," he told Fox News on Thursday.
McClure has joined a growing list of religious leaders who are defying public health guidelines, maintaining that those restrictions infringe on their First Amendment rights.
Pastor Mike McClure at Calvary Chapel San Jose (HKCREATE) Calvary Chapel San Jose (Eliza Perez) McClure's Calvary Chapel San Jose faces more than $700,000 in fines from Santa Clara County, which he is.