PITTSBURGH (AP) ? A southwestern Pennsylvania church hopes to convince a federal court jury this week that a 2009 county drug raid was an attempt to retaliate against it for exercising its unorthodox religious freedoms.
The Church of Universal Love and Music promoted jam band concerts that it says are worship services. But Fayette County officials say the shows were occasions for widespread drug use held in violation of zoning laws.
The county in 2009 settled an earlier lawsuit by agreeing to pay $75,000 and letting the church hold 12 concerts a year. But the church sued, claiming the raid at a weekend festival months after the settlement amounts to religious persecution.
To prove that, however, the church must also prove that its beliefs are sincerely held. The trial begins Monday.
Source: http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20130720/BREAKING/130729999&source=RSS
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