Two S. Oregon Churches Sue Gov. Brown In Federal Court Over COVID-19 Order

On the same day a Baker County judge refused to lift his injunction against Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s COVID-19-related executive orders, two Southern Oregon churches filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Gov. Kate Brown and other officials, claiming a ban on large church gatherings violates their constitutional rights to freedom of religion and assembly.

Attorneys for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian nonprofit group, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Eugene on behalf of the Edgewater Christian Fellowship in Grants Pass and the Church of God of Prophecy in Roseburg.

It names as defendants Brown, Oregon State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton, Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen, Josephine County Sheriff David Daniel and Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin, in their official capacities.