DENVER (Legal Newsline) – A Colorado church that claimed it was unfair to encourage mass protests while restricting the amount of people who could attend religious services has lost its bid for an injunction.
Colorado federal judge Raymond Moore turned down High Plains Harvest Church’s request for a preliminary injunction on Aug. 10, ruling the State maintains its authority despite protests in Denver following the death of George Floyd during an arrest in Minnesota.
Initially, the church wanted to provide services to up to 50 people while following CDC COVID-19 guidelines. The latest executive order made that permissible, so the church asked to be able to tend to an unlimited number of worshippers.
In making its argument, the church alleged Gov. Jared Polis “permitted and encouraged these protest gatherings while continuing to impose draconian restrictions on religious gatherings.”
Judge Moore wrote there are plenty of differences between outdoor protests and indoor services.
“Plaintiffs would have the Court preclude the state from enforcing public health orders – even as the COVID-19 pandemic again demonstrates its persistence and resilience – merely because the state addressed an unprecedented and potentially explosive situation with a modicum of restraint,” Moore wrote.
“Contrary to what Plaintiffs contend, the record does not establish that the state encouraged protests or created de facto exemptions. And the state did not lose its authority to manage a public health emergency because of its response to the protests.
“And so, based on Plaintiffs’ arguments and the record evidence, the Court has little trouble finding, at the very least, that the burden of establishing a substantial likelihood of prevailing on the merits has not been met.”