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Pro-drag queen church kicks cops out of their parking lot, sends them $10K invoice for parking
A pro-LGBTQ+ church in Florida that made headlines for having drag queens deliver a sermon just slapped their local sheriffs office with a bill for $10,000 for parking vehicles in the church parking lot.The Allendale United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg posted an image of the invoice on their Facebook. The invoice says that its for unauthorized use of private church parking lot beginning at 6:00 AM. 13 vehicles occupying 17 parking spots. Disruption to community access, operations, and congregational use of property. Related This gay couple decorated their home with Pride rainbows. A church tore them all down. Theyd reached a compromise, but the church removed the Pride flags anyway. The invoice refers to damages and disruption caused by the Pinellas County Sheriffs Offices alleged use of their parking lot and says that continued use without coordination or consent may result in legal action or additional penalties. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today At the end, the invoice says that the money will be used for legal services for immigrants. The churchs pastor, Andy Oliver, posted a video to Facebook on June 17 that showed a confrontation with police officers in the parking lot, where he asked them if he could help them. One of the officers told Oliver, Were just waiting for an operation. Oliver asked them if they were working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and they said no, but he still asked them to leave.I dont want policing to be staged here. Definitely, ICE is not welcome here, he said. Gay blogger Joe.My.God. notes that the Allendale United Methodist Church got online attention earlier this year when it hosted a drag queen-led worship service. LGBTQ+ affirming Allendale United Methodist Church, located in St. Petersburg, FL, hosts drag queen-led worship services. In one service, drag queens perform and lip-sync to Dolly Partons version of Go Tell It on the Mountain. Allendales most recent Instagram post reads, pic.twitter.com/h9omwmnhSE The Lion (@ReadTheLion) April 25, 2025 Their Instagram shows that they hosted a drag queen worship service on New Years Eve as well. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Allendale UMC (@allendaleumc)They also share pro-LGBTQ+ messages on social media and on their church sign as well, including this one that says, Pride started as a riot. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Allendale UMC (@allendaleumc)This pro-LGBTQ+ advocacy has gotten the church some attention, like when then-candidate for Pinellas County Commission Vince Nowicki sent out a mailer accusing the church of a radical, political agenda on behalf of LGBT activists and touted an IRS complaint he filed in 2023 against the church to have its tax-exempt status removed. The church said that the mailer led to a death threat. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Allendale UMC (@allendaleumc)Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.
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