Idaho Police Arrest Worshippers Attending Outdoor Church Without a Mask

Brittany M. Hughes | September 24, 2020
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Five people were cited and two were arrested at an outdoor church service in – and I kid you not, here – Moscow, Idaho for attending the gathering and singing while not wearing face masks.

According to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Gabriel Rench, a Republican who’s running for Latah County commissioner, was one of the two arrested for resisting an officer after police showed up at a psalm singing event hosted by Christ Church outside Moscow City Hall this week. In a social media post, Rench said the officers asked for his ID so they could write him a ticket for attending the gathering without a mask, per a local ordinance. The order mandates that anyone attending a gathering – whether indoors or outside – must wear a mask if they can’t maintain six feet of social distancing. Violating the order is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum punishment of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

"The cop came to talk to me and said, 'give me your license I'm going to write you a ticket,’” Rench wrote. "I said, 'you don't need to do this, you don't need to write me a ticket.'”

RELATED: Mom Is TASED & HANDCUFFED For Not Wearing Mask At Son's Football Game

 

After Rench refused, the cops handcuffed him and led him away – an incident caught on cell phone video.
 


More than 150 people reportedly attended the event, with most not wearing masks or social distancing. According to the report, Rench was arrested but not charged.

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