Group sues Harris County judge over violation of First Amendment right to worship and peaceably assemble

The CEO of a Texas hospital company and a conservative group is filing suit seeking to overturn a district judge’s order banning church services in the state.

Dr. Steven Hotze filed the lawsuit Tuesday in the State District Court in Harris County requesting that Judge Lina Hidalgo’s order banning church services be declared unconstitutional and unenforceable.

Hotze is chief executive officer of Hotze Health & Wellness Center and also CEO of Conservative Republicans of Texas. Joining him as plaintiffs are U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, Pastor Juan Bustamante, City on a Hill Church, Pastor George Garcia, Power of Love Church, Pastor David Valdez, World Faith Center of Houston Church and Pastor John Greiner of Glorious Way Church.

Jared Woodfill, of Woodfill Law Firm, is representing them.

“The First Amendment guarantees our God-given unalienable rights to worship and to peaceably assemble,” Hotze said in a prepared statement. “Neither of these rights are contingent upon our health status. These rights have been abrogated in many states, counties and cities across the nation.”

Hidalgo’s order mandates all “non-essential” businesses to close, including prohibiting churches from holding in-person services. The order does not identify places of worship as “essential services.” The penalty for violating the order is up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The order “prohibits churches from holding in person services and closes down gun shops and numerous other small businesses, while allowing other businesses to stay open – including but not limited to, liquor stores, bicycle repair shops, big-box stores, pool cleaners, yard and maintenance crews, housekeepers, janitorial staff,” the claim states.

In defiance of the order, Houston Pastor Juan Bustamonte of the City on a Hill Church held services on March 29, 2020. During the service, police officers and a fire marshal arrived and instructed the pastor to disband the service. He refused and he was issued a citation.

“Under the guise of a public health emergency, our constitutional rights are being denied,” Hotze argues.

In a letter to President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, Hotze said, “There is no need to lock down our country, close businesses and churches, or quarantine our citizens. The COVID-19 pales in significance when compared to the other causes of disease and death in the U.S. and worldwide.”

In addition to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs included an affidavit written by Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai, which challenges the federal and state shut down orders. Ayyadurai, a world-renowned immune system expert, received his doctorate from M.I.T. in biological engineering.

The affidavit states that as of April 3, 2020, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control there have been 277,205 confirmed and suspected cases of the coronavirus in the U.S., or .09 percent, compared to 17 percent of the population who contracted the flu over the same time period.

According to the CDC, 6,593 people died from the coronavirus, or .002 percent of the population, compared to 62,000 people who died from the flu, or .02 percent of the population over the same time period.

The death rate due to the flu in the U.S. is nearly 10 times more than COVID-19, Ayyadurai notes, and “the incident rate of the flu in the U.S. is nearly 200 times more than COVID-19.”

The 2017-2018 flu season was extremely severe. According to the CDC, there were 45 million cases of the flu with 810,000 flu related hospitalizations, and 61,000 deaths. Yet there were no lockdown government orders during this time, the affidavit notes.

During the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, there were no widespread closings of businesses, churches, schools and public gatherings, when an estimated 675,000 Americans died. By comparison, the 6,593 coronavirus-related deaths that have occurred in the U.S. represent 1 percent of the total number of those who died from the Spanish flu in the U.S., the affidavit claims.

The calculations of actual deaths and death rates do not add up or warrant a shut down, the affidavit argues.

Hidalgo spokesman Rafael Lemaitre told the Houston Chronicle, “Public health and science must drive our response, and the science is clear: If we fail to take adequate steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, people will die. We continue to urge folks to take this seriously.”

First Assistant County Attorney Robert Soard said there is “nothing in the order that prevents churches from broadcasting” services. He said Hidalgo wrote the order “as precisely or narrowly as she could to allow people to worship as they choose.”

In Harris County, most churches are providing online services and other worship opportunities, including Second Baptist Church, where Hotze and Woodfill are members.

This article was first published by The Center Square.