Ohio AG backs pastor convicted of fire code violation for housing homeless at church
January 31, 2025
Ohio’s Attorney General has filed an amicus brief in support of a pastor who was recently found guilty of violating fire code by allowing homeless people to shelter in his church during freezing weather.
The Christian Post reports that Ohio AG David Yost filed the brief earlier this week in support of Pastor Chris Avell of Dad’s Place Church in Bryan, Ohio.
According to the First Liberty Institute, this is the third brief that Yost has filed on behalf of the church since its legal problems with the city began in 2023.
The brief reads, in part: “This case is about religious liberty. Applying Ohio’s proper test — strict scrutiny — the Church should prevail, and the preliminary injunction against the Church should be reversed.”
“That is because the City has not shown a likelihood of success that its claimed interests are compelling, nor has it shown that it has chosen the least restrictive means of pursuing its interests. As shown below, the City cannot meet the higher burden that Ohio’s Constitution requires.”
Avell began keeping his church open around the clock to the local homeless population starting in March of 2023 and the city went after the pastor soon after, charging him with 18 zoning law violations.
According to the Christian Post, the pastor was charged with violating the city’s fire code by failing to install an expensive automated sprinkler system in a main room where 15 individuals were sleeping.
Earlier this month, a municipal court judge found Avell guilty of the violation and fined him $200 while handing down a 60-day suspended jail sentence. Avell was given 30 days to appeal the sentence.
First Liberty Institute Counsel Ryan Gardner had harsh words for the decision, saying in a statement, “Only government officials could say with a straight face that people are safer in the sub-zero temperatures on the street than inside the warmth of a church.”
Photo: top, Credit: First Liberty Institute