HOUSTON – Six people were escorted out of Lakewood Church and arrested Sunday morning after they yelled during the sermon, according to a representative from the church.
The church said the protesters were quoting Scripture. Lakewood decided to cut the online feed to its service because of the interruption.
Anwar Richardson posted a video on his Twitter page showing some of the protesters. He later tweeted that he and several other people were leaving early because of the disturbance.
Jacob Gardner, 26; Kevin Fessler, 27; Mark DeRouville, 25; Matthew Martinez, 27; Randall Valdez, 28, and Richard Trudeau, 32, are all charged with trespassing.
Lakewood said the protesters were from a "controversial" church in Nacogdoches called The Church of Wells.
Lakewood Church released a statement Monday that read in part, "Lakewood Church takes the disruption of our services seriously and plans to pursue criminal charges, as well as all other legal remedies against these individuals and the Church of Wells. A significant number of Lakewood's ushers and security team members are Police and Sheriff's officers who attend Lakewood regularly. These officers were efficient and quick in responding to the situation and, along with Lakewood's leadership will continue to be vigilant in the security and protection of Lakewood Church and its members."
Richard Trudeau