Broome, James Each Played Central Role In Attacks on Religious Liberty in Covid

Rev. Tony Spell, Pastor, Life Tabernacle Church

There are many times in the Bible when men had to face a Day of Reckoning. A Day of Reckoning is a time for taking account and being held responsible for the good or evil that you have caused.  

Here in Louisiana, since 2020, the public officials who attempted to take away our liberties during Covid have also faced Days of Reckoning.  Year by year, they are being held responsible for their actions.

John Bel Edwards. In 2020, Edwards forced the closure of thousands of churches and tens of thousands of small businesses.  He attempted to take away our freedom of speech and freedom of religion. 

At Life Tabernacle, we resisted and never closed our doors or missed a service, although I was sent to jail and later placed in an ankle bracelet at home.  

In May 2022, the Louisiana Supreme Court humiliated the governor by ruling that everything he had done was illegal and unconstitutional!  His self-righteous efforts to violate our constitution and laws were revealed as the actions of a tyrant — not a savior as he portrayed himself. This was a Day of Reckoning for John Bel Edwards.  

In 2023, this tyrannical governor had to give up his office to the man who did the most to stand in his way and fight his dictatorial behavior — Jeff Landry.  

What a humiliating moment for Edwards — to hand the reins of state government over to the one who had repeatedly called out his actions as patently illegal.  

Now, former Gov. Edwards is facing another Day of Reckoning in the form of our civil lawsuit, which would hold him personally liable for the harm that he did to our constitutional liberties during 2020-2022.

Sharon Weston Broome. In addition to John Bel Edwards, Mayor-President Broome was the second most important public official leading the illegal effort to shut down Life Tabernacle Church and put me in jail.  Her edicts and decrees were specifically intended to harass Life Tabernacle, intimidate us, and force us to close.  

She took aim at Life Tabernacle Church and tried to have me arrested, even though I had broken no law.  

Now Mayor Broome is facing reelection in a very difficult contest.   She has two major opponents — Coach Sid Edwards of Central who opposes mandatory shutdowns, masks, and vaccines, and former Rep. Ted James, her former campaign manager, who was one of the most militant supporters of the Covid lockdown.  

Ironically, Broome and James are now involved in a very bitter campaign against one another, which has gotten very personal. They were supposed to be the two leading candidates for Mayor-President, but now they have fallen dramatically. 

Broome has been recognized as a poor administrator, and James is now seen as a radical leftist.  

Coach Sid has a great chance to win!

Rep. Ted James deserves a place of infamy for his role in the Covid dictatorship. As chairman of the House Criminal Justice Committee, he played a critical role in stopping the legislature from taking action to end Edwards’ illegal emergency lockdown.  

In October 2020, a Special Session of the legislature considered HB 9 to limit the Governor’s power to impose lockdowns and specifically to prevent pastors from being arrested for holding church.   In the committee, Rep. James, who was presiding over the committee, said I had been arrested for breaking the law, just like every other person in Parish Prison.  

When I asked what law had I broken, he cut me off and said, “This is not your church!”  

In that special session of the legislature, members of Life Tabernacle, who had been fired from their jobs because they attended church during the lockdown, testified before Rep. Ted James’ committee. 

Even after hearing their testimony documenting how they had been persecuted for their religious beliefs, he made the motion to kill the legislation!  

Nevertheless, the bill passed the committee 6-3  and sent it to the floor of the House.  Later, allies of Gov. John Bel Edwards killed the bill in the Senate.  

Christians will long remember James’ role in justifying the arrest of pastors for holding church!

Day of Reckoning.  So now Sharon Weston Broome and Ted James will face their Day of Reckoning in the November 5 election.  

The campaign for Mayor-President has been a disaster for Broom and James as they have repeatedly attacked one another.  Early voting shows their respective voting bases are not turning out to vote. 

The candidate who looks the best and seems most likely to win is Coach Sid Edwards, a wonderful Christian man who has worked for 44 years to save the youth of this community. He has a clear vision for the future of our parish — a future based on God‘s word. 

I am predicting that both Broome and James will go down to defeat.  That will remove from public office two of those who did the most to try to take away our First Amendment rights.

As to the national election, I’m certainly no political expert but I think a Day of Reckoning is coming for Vice President Kamala Harris, and that President Trump will be successful.  Our nation is at a crossroads, and the voters will make that fateful decision.

From all of us at Life Tabernacle Church, thank you so much for your loyal support!

Be assured that we will continue to stand up and fight for the First Amendment and the religious liberty of all our citizens.