A tense situation is unfolding for Freedom Place Church in Rowlett, Texas, as Pastor Kason Huddleston accuses local officials of attempting to manipulate their political power to shut down the church’s designation as a polling site. The pastor emphasized that despite the city’s threats to revoke their certificate of occupancy, their doors remain open, serving the community as they have done since they began.
The drama escalated recently when city authorities claimed to have unearthed issues with the church’s occupancy certificate, which was issued nearly a year prior. This revelation, according to Pastor Huddleston, came as a surprise and appeared to be a retaliatory act stemming from the city’s displeasure over the church’s selection as a voting location for the upcoming November election.
On October 7, the First Liberty Institute stepped in, as Senior Counsel Jeremy Dys wrote to Rowlett’s Director of Community Development, urging the city to reconsider their actions, calling them unconstitutional. The details of the threat reached the church dramatically. According to Huddleston, the city manager personally delivered a message just before a deadline, demanding immediate rectification of what the city described as an error in their occupancy status.
“All of a sudden, the last day of September, the city manager hand-delivered a letter to our building at 6 p.m.,” Huddleston recalled. The suddenness of the warning felt to him like nothing less than “weaponizing their political office.” As of now, the church still holds its occupancy certificate and continues its operations without interruption.
Freedom Place Church, which is part of the Assemblies of God denomination, was designated as the sole early voting location for the second consecutive year. This decision came after the church met all necessary legal requirements, a fact that some local officials disputed. Tensions first began in the spring of 2023 when Dallas County election officials approached the church about serving as a voting facility, a move that seemed to set off controversy once Mayor Blake Margolis learned of it.
In a previous City Council meeting, the mayor expressed his frustration over the decision to use the church as a polling place. Huddleston recounted, “He was livid,” suggesting that Margolis’s objections were less about legalities and more connected to the church’s identity and his political stance.
The mayor has been vocal about his belief that churches should not serve as polling locations, and he directly pointed to Pastor Huddleston’s support of Donald Trump as influencing his position. Margolis stated that the city council did not approve of voting in any church facilities, further complicating the dialogue surrounding the church’s role in the election.
Despite criticisms suggesting the church is driven by political gain, First Liberty attorney Ryan Gardener emphasized that the church’s intentions are purely altruistic. He explained that their goal is to serve the community, viewing their selection as a polling site as a way to fulfill that mission rather than an attempt to profit.
Gardener also noted that local objections seem unfounded, especially considering the number of churches throughout Dallas County that successfully host polling events. As Huddleston reflected on his two decades of collaboration with the city, he expressed shock at the mayor’s actions and insisted that they are simply following their calling to serve and uplift the community.
As the situation continues to unfold, the church remains steadfast in its mission, trusting in their legal representation and what they believe to be a righteous role in the upcoming elections. The ongoing struggle illustrates the complexities at the intersection of faith, politics, and civic duty in modern America.
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