The pastor of a Tampa church has been arrested for holding large services despite a "safer-at-home" order that's currently in place in the whole county. The sheriff says up to 500 people were in attendance at Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne's Sunday services and some members were even bused in together.
Howard-Browne, 58, turned himself in Monday afternoon after Sheriff Chad Chronister and State Attorney Andrew Warren on Monday announced an arrest warrant had been issued for charges of unlawful assembly and violating public health emergency rules of isolation and quarantine. Howard-Browne was released 40 minutes later after posting a $500 bond.
"His reckless disregard for human life put hundreds of people in his congregation at risk and thousands of residents who may interact with them this week in danger," Sheriff Chad Chronister said at a press conference Monday afternoon. "They have access to technology allowing them to live stream their services over the internet and broadcast to their 400 members from the safety of their own homes, but instead they chose to gather at church.”
Watch below as the Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister announced on Monday that the pastor of a Tampa church had been arrested for holding large services despite a "safer-at-home" order that's currently in place in the county.