Church holds packed indoor services despite Covid restrictions

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    Rocklin, CA (KOVR) — Destiny Church in Rocklin held several indoor services this past weekend as parishioners gathered to hear popular host and author Charlie Kirk speak.

“A lot of the people watching online on our YouTube channel, they would be stunned to see that there are three services packed out of people here because that’s not the norm across the country,” Charlie Kirk said

Tanner Di Bella, the marketing and communications director for Destiny Church, said they’re doing what they can to keep parishioners safe.

“Whenever someone comes to the church, we take their temperature, and then between each service, we sanitize any surface,” Di Bella said. “We have registration beforehand to keep our capacity at a lower threshold.”

Earlier this month, Placer County announced they’ve entered the purple tier, California’s most restrictive tier in the state’s four-tier reopening plan amid the pandemic. According to state public health guidelines, houses of worship can only operate outdoors – making the indoor services from this past weekend prohibited.

“The church is an essential component of the community,” Di Bella said.

In front of Kirk this weekend was a packed audience, some of whom admitted to already having the virus.

“How many people here have already had the virus? Maybe about 40 or 50,” Kirk said.

Kirk condemned the state’s tier system and the actions of Governor Gavin Newsom, who found himself in hot water for attending a friend’s birthday celebration in Napa County while ignoring his own statewide issued rules.

“When Gavin Newsom goes to French Laundry and you can’t go to church, stop listening to Gavin Newsom,” said Kirk, who took to Twitter Monday afternoon to double down on his call to action.

Kirk tweeted, “It is time to disobey ALL orders that violate our natural rights. No more curfews, lockdowns, or authoritarian measures. Disobey, resist, defy – open America!”

We reached out to Placer County to ask if they’re concerned by the church’s actions.

The county’s Interim Public Health Officer, Dr. Rob Oldham, said, in part, “Evidence suggests that large and prolonged indoor gatherings facilitate the spread of COVID-19 and we strongly encourage residents to avoid these types of gatherings.”

CBS13 did reach out to the city of Rocklin to ask if they had taken any steps to contact the Destiny Church. We have not heard back.

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