Officiant At Superspreader Maine Wedding Is An Anti-Mask Evangelical
The officiant at a rural Maine wedding that turned into a deadly COVID-19 “superspreader” event is an evangelical Christian pastor who has railed against his state’s coronavirus regulations and whose own church experienced an outbreak, according to local media reports.
As the now-infamous wedding reception’s impact spread through Maine, Pastor Todd Bell, of Calvary Baptist Church in Sanford, cast doubt on the effectiveness of masks, allowed congregational singing, and disseminated misinformation about the severity of COVID-19.
The church has retained a Christian legal defense nonprofit, National Center for Life and Liberty (NCLL), to help defend its “right to meet” during the pandemic.
“The authority of a local Christian church, a Jewish synagogue, or a Muslim mosque to gather for their respective religious services is a time-honored part of our nation’s history since its inception,” the nonprofit wrote in a statement obtained by HuffPost. “These religious activities are also fully protected under the First Amendment to our United States Constitution.”
On Aug. 6, Bell, who is also a pilot, tweeted that he was flying to marry a couple in Northern Maine. He presided over the wedding ceremony at the Tri Town Baptist Church in East Millinocket on Aug. 7. Afterward, about 65 people gathered for a reception at Big Moose Inn, exceeding the state’s 50-person limit for indoor gatherings. Guests at the wedding did not wear masks or stay socially distanced, according to the Bangor Daily News.
Over 270 coronavirus infections and eight deaths have now been traced back to that wedding, The Associated Press reported. Several people who had no association with the wedding party, and who live more than 100 miles away, fell ill.
Bell and six families from Calvary Baptist Church attended the wedding. Ten cases of COVID-19 have since emerged at Bell’s church, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed to the AP last...
