Police dispatched to ensure no one attended Coastal Family Church 

This is a flashback to the unconstitutional COVID church shutdowns 

Police were dispatched to Flagler Square strip mall Sunday morning to prevent Coastal Family Church members from entering their church. 

No, this isn’t a reference to an old COVID shutdown case; it happened just this past weekend!

When Liberty Counsel struck down the last of the COVID-era church closures, we never thought we would have to address forced church shutdowns again — until now.

No More Church Shutdowns! Help Liberty Counsel Defend Coastal Family Church and a special Challenge Grant will DOUBLE the impact of your gift.

Last Friday, a Florida court issued an extraordinary order that forced Coastal Family Church to close its doors and bar its own congregation from gathering to worship on church property. This unprecedented injunction took immediate effect on January 23, silencing one Sunday service already and threatening every upcoming week of ministry, prayer, and fellowship.

Pastor Roderick Palmer and his congregation simply want to do what churches have always done: gather, worship, pray, and serve their community. But the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court issued a temporary injunction prohibiting all in-person worship services at the church’s Flagler Beach property — despite the church owning its unit, despite the city approving its zoning, and despite zero evidence of any harm.

This order violates the First Amendment rights of speech, assembly, and religious exercise, and for the first time in its history, Coastal Family Church was forced to close its doors last Sunday.

Liberty Counsel has already filed an emergency appeal to the Fifth District Court of Appeal, seeking a stay and reversal of this unconstitutional injunction. But the legal battle ahead will be intense — and extremely costly.

How Did This Happen?

In August 2025, the strip mall’s property management association, Flagler Square - JAX, Inc., attempted to enforce a restrictive covenant banning “public assembly” in the strip mall — but they are only enforcing that against the church, not the other three tenants that are also using their spaces for public gatherings, which include bingo nights and hall rentals for assemblies and celebrations. 

Even after the city granted Coastal Family Church its zoning special exception, the trial court ignored these facts and still took the extraordinary step of outlawing worship on church-owned property!

The injunction is not merely wrong — it is illegal and dangerous. 

Courts have repeatedly held that closing a house of worship causes immediate, irreparable harm, even if the closure lasts only a short time.  

This injunction is a textbook example of a “prior restraint” on religious expression — the most disfavored and least tolerated violation of First Amendment rights.  

And if this order is allowed to stand, any homeowners association, landlord, or property board in America could attempt the very same tactic to shut down churches they dislike. 

No More Church Shutdowns! Help us fight today!

The Law Is on Coastal Family Church’s Side 

Florida law offers multiple layers of protection for churches — and every one of them is being violated here:

• Fla. Stat. 712.065 — Prohibition on Religious Discriminatory Covenants: Any covenant to exclude religious groups is void.

• Fla. Stat. 718.123 — Owners’ Right to Peaceably Assemble: Condominiums cannot unreasonably restrict assembly — especially in common areas like parking.

• Florida Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Fla. Stat. 761): Government cannot impose a substantial burden on religious exercise without a compelling interest and least restrictive means.

• Federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA): Judicial enforcement of a land-use restriction against a church is state action — and must yield to federal protections.

Despite these laws, a judge still forced this church to shut its doors.

Every Sunday that the doors of Coastal Family Church remain closed inflicts irreparable spiritual and constitutional injury. Pastor Palmer and Coastal Family Church members should not be forced to choose between worship and contempt of court. 

No church in America should ever be told it cannot use its own property to gather for prayer and fellowship.

But appealing this injunction and defending the church will require significant legal resources, expert testimony, travel, filings, and emergency motions — many of which must be made on an urgent timeline.

That is why your support today is vital. YOU can make the difference between a church forced into silence and a church restored to worship. 

Your gift will help fund Liberty Counsel’s emergency appeal, protect Pastor Palmer and his congregation, and defend religious freedom nationwide.  

Please consider making a generous donation today — 35, 75, 150, 500 dollars, or more.