🛰️ Jan 19, 2024: News Week > There’s A Demon On The Loose! The charges sparked outrage on social media, as critics argued he should not be punished for trying to provide shelter for his city’s homeless population.

Jan 19, 2024 at 4:12 PM EST
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“This is outrageous,” MSNBC host Katie Phang posted to X, formerly Twitter.

“An Ohio pastor was charged with violating his city’s zoning restrictions after he opened his church to homeless people to help them escape the freezing temperatures… this is unbelievable,” ABC News journalist Deborah Roberts said.

“I’m absolutely sure that if Jesus was born on Earth now it would end the exact same way,” podcaster Phillip Slavin wrote.

In a statement sent to Newsweek, the Bryan Mayor’s Office said the church is in an area of the city in which buildings are not permitted for residential use on the first floor and that Avell never requested permission to use the church as a homeless shelter.

The statement pointed to a number of alleged violations—including improper installation of laundry facilities, inadequate or unsafe exit areas, a lack of permitted and approved kitchen hood over the stove and limited ventilation—found in November.
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