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Background: Chris Avell

Background: Chris Avell’s church in Ohio, Dad’s Place./Inset: Chris Avell and his wife, Lisa Avell. Photos provided by First Liberty Institute.

A pastor slapped with over a dozen criminal zoning charges after he insisted on keeping his church doors open to the homeless has sued a city in Ohio alleging religious discrimination is behind efforts to shudder his sanctuary.

Pastor Chris Avell vows under his Christian faith he is bound to help the hungry and house those without homes at his 24-hour ministry in Bryan, Ohio, known as Dad’s Place.

But officials in the small city outside of Toledo say Dad’s Place turned into a hot spot for “transient” crime starting last spring and allege that Avell had failed for months to adhere to numerous local fire ordinances as well as residential-use rules for his property.

The first floor, Bryan officials said in a press release reviewed by Law&Crime, was not permitted for residential use; the “lives and safety of those in the building” were in potential jeopardy due to things like “improper installation of laundry facilities, inadequate or unsafe exit areas” and more, according to officials.

Avell was arraigned on Jan. 11 and pleaded not guilty. Eleven days later, the pastor decided he wouldn’t take the charges lying down and with his attorney and lawyers at the religious liberty group First Liberty Institute now aiding him, he filed a claim against Bryan officials urging a federal court to issue a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction barring the mayor and his officers from enforcing city ordinances.

By doing this, it would allow those who need shelter and food in the cold Ohio winter to be protected and would, moreover, allow the church to continue “using the entirety of its property for religious purposes,” the motion requesting the restraining order argues.

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