DA Sues South Bay Church For Alleged Health Order Violations

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA – A South Bay church is facing legal action for alleged violations of coronavirus health orders.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office and county counsel jointly filed suit this week this week seeking a court order directing Calvary Church to stop ongoing violations of the state and local health orders that they say pose a risk to public health.

The lawsuit was filed in Superior Court.

The DA alleges the church has been filling its pews at weekly services with crowds of 600 people who aren’t wearing masks or social distancing at its 1175 Hillsdale Ave. location near the Almaden Expressway.

The county’s health order caps indoor gatherings at 100 people and requires that masks must be worn and social distancing regulations adhered to, the DA’s office said.

Calvary Church officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this case.

The lawsuit follows months of county officials working with the church officials to get them to comply voluntarily with health orders and the issuing of fines when they refused, the DA’s office said.

“The county’s attempts to achieve voluntary compliance have not worked, and more than $350,000 in civil fines have not deterred defendants’ ongoing, dangerous behavior,” the lawsuit alleges.

Pastor Mike McClure is among the defendants named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit cites a May report in The Mercury News in which McClure

“stated that he would reopen the church for regular services, regardless of the status of local orders, and ‘never’ close the church again.

“Since then, defendants have trumpeted their intentional noncompliance, live-streamed and posted videos of indoor gatherings that demonstrate their noncompliance, and refused to cooperate with public health officials seeking to contain COVID-19 outbreaks.”

A Superior Court hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday.

“After church officials made clear they had no intention of ending their dangerous conduct, the County Counsel and District Attorney filed the request for a court order,” the DA’s office said in a statement.

The court action follows the reporting of numerous incidents in which church services and other large gatherings without social distancing and masks caused super-spreader events.

County officials said they’ve taken action to prevent these large outbreaks as communities around the country see massive surges in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.

“The obligation to preserve and protect life is at the heart of all major faiths,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement.

“We are grateful that virtually all religious congregations in the county have adapted their services to not risk the safety of their congregants or the community. All of us are making difficult sacrifices that are saving lives.”

Calvary Church is among at least two South Bay churches that have been fined for allegedly violating the county’s coronavirus health order. North Valley Baptist Church in Santa Clara is the other.

“Santa Clara County is one of the safest regions in the country because of our Public Health Officer’s thoughtful, science-based approach, and because our residents have carefully complied with public health requirements,” Santa Clara County Counsel James R. Williams said in a statement.

“To keep our residents safe, and to allow schools, churches, and businesses to reopen and stay open, we need everyone to do their part. We cannot allow any organization in our community to willfully and repeatedly violate these orders, while everyone else, including other churches and religious organizations in the county, are complying.”