A year ago, Calvary Chapel San Jose (CCSJ) was the most persecuted church in America. Despotic officials, both state and local, employed every trick in the book, unsuccessfully, to force the church to shut its doors. The harassment continued after the Supreme Court ruled twice in the church’s favor. On Monday, the California Court of Appeals (the state’s mid-level court) hopefully ended the crusade, ruling in favor of CCSJ and its Pastor Mike McClure in three separate cases.

The government sought to punish the church for meeting together during Governor Gavin Newsom’s (D) draconian lockdowns. They also targeted the church’s bank and mortgage holder, snooped around looking for something wrong with its church-run school, and tried to harass its employees and members.

Government officials imposed unreasonably steep fines on the church and its senior pastor, which eventually totaled a crushing $3.8 million. They sought and obtained preliminary injunctions against the church gatherings. Then courts issued contempt orders against the church for failing to abide by the preliminary injunction. These injunctions and contempt orders were the subjects of the appeals court’s Monday rulings.

The California Court of Appeals concluded that “the temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions are facially unconstitutional,” based on the Supreme Court’s recent guidance. “As the underlying orders which Calvary Chapel violated are void and unenforceable,” the court also annulled “the orders of contempt in their entirety and reverse the orders to pay monetary sanctions.”

Full story at The Washington Stand.