Pastor who held Easter Sunday service during lockdown allegedly drove church bus toward coronavirus protester

Tony Spell, from the Life Tabernacle Church in Louisiana, charged with aggravated assault

A Louisiana pastor was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly backing a bus in the direction of a protester warning the church was a “coronavirus incubator”.

Revered Tony Spell, who continued holding church services during a statewide stay-at-home order, is accused of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after video footage allegedly captured him driving the bus a few feet away from the protester.

Spell turned himself in to police on Tuesday morning after the alleged incident was reportedly caught on camera on Sunday. He was booked on two misdemeanours and taken to East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

The Central Police Department put out another warrant for the person driving a white truck seen on security footage that appears to swerve off the road in an attempt to hit the protester in a separate incident.

The alleged victim, who identified himself as Trey Bennett, told local station WAFB 9 he had been protesting in front of the church since Easter Sunday, with signs saying: “CAUTION: Coronavirus incubator. Do not enter. You may die”.

“Just trying to raise awareness so that people will demand that this place [Life Tabernacle] gets closed down,” Mr Bennett said.

The pastor of the Life Tabernacle Church has also previously been handed six misdemeanour summons for six counts of violating a statewide stay-at-home mandate after allegedly holding services, including a packed Easter Sunday gathering, during the pandemic.

Church member Harold Orillion, 78, died from complications related to Covid-19, though Mr Spell said he died of a “broken heart“ following the death of his son.

Spell’s attorney, Joseph Long, told NBC his client would be vindicated.

“A fair viewing of the video will prove that Spell did not attempt to run over the protester, and the protester did not feel threatened, as he never moved when the bus came near,” Mr Long said.