A Louisiana pastor is accused of attacking his neighbor who hurled expletives and allegedly threatened to rape and kill his wife as the pair brawled across from the church.
Tony Spell, the 48-year-old pastor of the Life Tabernacle Church, was arrested on battery charges for beating his neighbor’s 20-year old son on Tuesday, according to WBRZ.
Spell was changing the battery of his Central church’s school buses when he was allegedly abused from across the four-lane road in Baton Rouge, La.
“He said, Tony, ‘I’m going to rape your wife, I’m going to rape all your grandchildren, and the next time you go out of town I’m going to kill them,” Spell claimed on Wednesday.
Spell said he had a “duty and obligation” to protect his family.
“Number one, I’m a husband, number two, I’m a father, and number three, I’m a pastor who shepherds his flock,” he said. “I will not allow a man to murder my children when I’m gone.”
Footage obtained by WBRZ showed Spell trooping over toward the son of his long-term rival Scott Sherwin, before he unleashed the beatdown on the lawn in front of passing cars.
Spell allegedly assaulted his victim eight times before wrestling him to the ground, where he threw another 27 punches, leaving the man needing five stitches to his chin.
He also allegedly twisted the man’s neck and kicked him in the side.
“I’m going to break your neck,” the pastor allegedly threatened.
Spell was charged with second-degree battery and faces up to eight years in prison.
Spell is due to appear in court on September 15, and vowed, “The truth will come out in court.”
He addressed the altercation to his congregation at the Life Tabernacle Church and compared it to “domestic terrorism.” He also cited a Bible passage from Mark 16:18, WAFB reported.
“In my name, they shall lay hands on the sick. And they shall recover,” he said.
“So today, I fulfilled the scripture. I laid hands on the sick. I don’t know how much recovery they’re going to have, but I laid hands on the sick.”
Spell has been in a long-standing feud with Sherwin; the pastor filed a lawsuit during the pandemic in 2020 over surveillance cameras that were installed.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Spell was ticketed for holding in-person church services, defying Louisiana’s social distancing restrictions.
Spell claimed the cameras were installed to monitor him.
In April 2020, Spell was accused of attacking a protester outside his church. Police alleged that Spell backed his church bus in the direction of the protester, who was identified as Trey Bennett, according to news station WAFB-TV.
He was arrested for aggravated assault but never formally charged.
