‘You are in trespass. You need to leave this church right now’: Moment Catholic priest orders maskless man out of Washington mass – before he begins brawling with men who try to remove him and almost topples the ALTAR
- A viral video shows moment that a Catholic congregation in Washington swarms a man trespassing in their church and nearly overturn the altar
- In the October 24 footage, the priest stops reading a psalm and points at the man, telling him ‘you are trespassing,’ before Parishioners swarm the intruder
- The man says ‘keep your hands off me’, before engaging in fisticuffs with several men and being physically pulled from the building
- Of the swarm that amassed in the building, only the offending man was maskless – however, it appears mask usage wasn’t the issue that instigated the altercation
- Police said the unnamed man had been served a no trespass order on October 13, and was charged with first-degree criminal trespass after the incident
- ‘The church began having problems with a parishioner whose son attended school there. He began acting irrationally and creating disturbances’
- Father Paul Brunet told members of the church in a letter that the man had abused and threatened him, members of the parish and school staff
- The man was also in breach of Washington state and local county guidelines ordering people to wear masks in public indoor spaces
A shocking videos shows the moment a brawl erupted in a Catholic church during mass after a maskless troublemaker was ordered to leave by the priest – with the ensuing fight almost toppling the altar.
In the October 24 footage, taken from one of the pews and viewed nearly 170,000 times, the man can be seen kneeling toward the front of the church when Father Paul Brunet stops reading a psalm, puts down his outstretched hands and points at the man, telling him ‘you are in trespass.’
Then, he urges members of the St. Frances Cabrini Parish in Lakewood, Washington State to ‘get the security guards.’
The man gets up onto the pulpit, approaching the now-seated priest, then turns around to the congregation and says ‘keep your hands off me.’
He was previously ordered not to trespass at the church, and was also going bare-faced in contravention of state and county rules stipulating that people must wear masks when in an indoor public space.
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The man gets up onto the pulpit, approaching the now-seated priest, then turns around to the congregation and says ‘keep your hands off me’
The first man to approach the intruder speaks with him unintelligibly, pointing toward the door, before he delivers the first push and the pair begin throwing punches at one another
As about 20 churchgoers stream to the front of the church to take part in the unseemly brawl, the priest asks ‘can somebody please call 911?’ The priest and other churchgoers hold the lurching altar in place as the scuffle unfolds
The congregation moves to do exactly the opposite as the man insists he’s ‘not trespassing,’ pointing at the priest. The first man to approach the intruder speaks with him unintelligibly, pointing toward the door, before he delivers the first push and the pair begin throwing punches at one another
As about 20 churchgoers stream to the front of the church to take part in the unseemly brawl, the priest asks ‘can somebody please call 911?’ The priest and other churchgoers hold the lurching altar in place as the scuffle unfolds.
The group collectively drags the man off the stage and toward, presumably, the front door of the church. Children cry, and a woman repeatedly asks ‘what happened to him?’ Then, the video ends abruptly.
The group collectively drags the man off the stage and toward, presumably, the front door of the church. Children cry, and a woman repeatedly asks ‘what happened to him?’ Then, the video ends abruptly
The incident took place around noon, and the unidentified man had been served a notice on October 13 for trespassing on church grounds two days earlier, according to the Lakewood Police Department.
Both Pierce County and Washington State currently mandate mask usage indoors, and the man appears to be the only churchgoer in the video without PPE – however, it appears that ask usage was not the issue that spurred on the confrontation.
A Public Information Officer with the department said that the man had been ‘making disturbances,’ but did not provide additional context.
‘The church began having problems with a parishioner whose son attended school there. He began acting irrationally and creating disturbances,’ Lieutenant Chris Lawler told DailyMail.com.
‘At the request of the church, we served the male a criminal trespass notice… the male returned to the church and created another disturbance.’
After the incident caught on video, police arrived at the scene, arrested the man and charged him with first-degree criminal trespass. He was booked into jail, then released on bail.
‘The events leading up to this unfortunate incident began last month,’ wrote Father Brunet in a letter to congregation members obtained by Kiro 7.
The Priest wrote that the man had abused and threatened him, members of the parish and staff at the church’s school. Subsequently, he said, the parish and school sought out a No Trespass order from the Lakewood Police Department, delivered to the man on October 13.
‘He chose to disregard this order when he appeared at Mass yesterday,’ the Priest wrote.
‘Please join me in praying for all who were involved in or witnessed this incident and be assured of my prayers for all of you.’
Father Brunet and the parish could not be reached for comment by DailyMail.com.
Yesterday, Parishioners were dissuaded from sharing the viral video, or from talking about the incident, on the church’s Facebook page with a message including an excerpt from Ephesians 4:29-32: ‘Never let evil pass your lips; say only the good things men need to hear, things that will really help them.’
‘In light of this holy instruction please remove any videos and sharing of the disruption of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass last Sunday,’ read the post. ‘People outside of the parish like the man on the east coast don’t need to be involved.’
Yesterday, Parish-goers were dissuaded from sharing the viral video, or from talking about the incident, on the church’s Facebook page with a message including an excerpt from Ephesians 4:29-32: ‘Never let evil pass your lips; say only the good things men need to hear, things that will really help them’
A number of congregation members responded ‘Amen.’ Other commenters on the post said it was ‘too late,’ and that further explanation for the incident had to be given.
‘It’s already gone viral and a lot of Catholics would like an answer as to the atrocious mob behavior of your congregation!’ wrote Hannah Louise Carter.
‘Your priest and congregation should repent. Evil was brought into the light,’ sad another Facebook user.
‘All he did was kneel down and start praying and your priest pointed at him and said he is trespassing. Pure evil in your church. Then your members instead of peacefully speaking with him violently removed him and swarmed him.’
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