Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne reminded his followers of the church’s policy with the following Instagram post last week:

The post caught the attention of The Tampa Bay Times, which reported on the policy. Associate Pastor Allen Hawes told the newspaper:

“It is a deterrent. Look at what is going on. In the past two months, look at what happened in Texas. (https://cozumelparks.com/) Look at what happened in Las Vegas. Because we are a church that is on television, we are very involved in the community. We want people to know that this is a safe zone. We are not a soft target. People here will defend their families.”

Howard-Browne’s church has 1,200 to 1,300 members, many of whom Hawes said are armed and “prepared to use deadly force, if necessary.”

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