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Life Tabernacle Church pastor Tony Spell stands in front of his congregation members and media gathered outside East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, after he was arrested, booked then released on bond, Tuesday, April 21, 2020. Spell, who has defied the prohibition of large gatherings put in place because of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 epidemic and continued to hold services, was arrested on a Tuesday on allegations he tried to hit a protester Sunday with one of his buses.

 STAFF PHOTO BY TRAVIS SPRADLING

A well-known Central pastor was arrested Tuesday morning by the sheriffโ€™s office after he allegedly beat a 20-year-old man.

Deputies responded to the incident and arrested Tony Spell for one count of second-degree battery. He is being processed and will be booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

Spell made national headlines in 2020 when he refused to stop holding church services at Life Tabernacle Church, defying then-Gov. John Bel Edwards' emergency orders shutting down group events because of the COVID pandemic. He was charged with six misdemeanors.

The ถถา๕h Supreme Court later threw out those charges, saying Edwards' restrictions on religious gatherings violated the First Amendment.

Spell was also arrested in 2020 after he allegedly almost hit a protester with a bus. He was later released and the charges dropped.