Louisiana pastor Tony Spell has been ordered to remain at least 50 yards from his neighbor's home, with a specific exception for checking his mailbox. This protection order comes as bodycam footage appears to capture Spell using a homophobic slur to describe his alleged assault victim.
Spell, the 48-year-old pastor of Baton Rouge's Life Tabernacle Church, faces a charge of second-degree battery stemming from an alleged assault last month. He is scheduled to appear in court in September. Spell claims the neighbor's son threatened to kill and rape his wife before assaulting him.
Two days after the alleged assault, the neighbor, Scott Sherwin, reported Spell for mowing his lawn at 4 a.m., an act Sherwin described as "psychological warfare" intended to intimidate his son. Bodycam footage from the responding officer shows Sherwin expressing his frustration, stating, "Do you cut your grass at 4 in the morning?"
During the interaction with the officer, Spell, who was sitting on his lawnmower, identified himself, stating, "Everybody in the world knows my name." The bodycam footage appears to capture Spell referring to Sherwin's son as a "f—-t" and commenting on the prior altercation. He also made a statement directed at Sherwin's son and a group of teenagers nearby, saying, "He's just sore because I beat the crap out of his f—-t boy... And he's next if he comes over here and harasses these boys."
Spell, who could face up to eight years in prison if convicted of the battery charge, has defended his actions. He told reporters after his release from jail, "I'm a husband, I'm a father, and I'm a pastor who shepherds his flock. I will not allow a man to murder my children when I'm gone." He reiterated the alleged threats made by Sherwin's son, including threats to rape his wife and grandchildren.
Spell addressed the altercation with his congregation, comparing it to "domestic terrorism" and citing a Bible passage. He has a history of conflict with Sherwin, including a lawsuit filed in 2020 concerning surveillance cameras he believed were installed to monitor him. In April 2020, Spell was arrested for aggravated assault after police alleged he drove his church bus toward a protester outside his church, though he was never formally charged. Spell also faced tickets for holding in-person services that defied Louisiana's COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.