Was Pastor Tony Spell Justified in His Actions? (and why didn’t he just ignore them?)

Well, that’s the big question right now, isn’t it?

Pastor Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is in the news again and there’s a lot of gossip, a lot of speculation, and a LOT of judgment.

This has left many people asking, “Why didn’t he just ignore them?”

Well, he did for the most part. He filed police reports, asked local law enforcement to intervene, sought help from the police – and they did nothing.

He did everything he was supposed to do in resolving the issue, but he has a biblical mandate to keep his wife, family, and the flock safe. When the harassment became threats of serious bodily harm and murder, he couldn’t sit by waiting for a biased, impotent police department to take action. They’d had six years to take action,

And it isn’t like they didn’t know exactly what was going on.

See, there’s a lot to this story that many people don’t know.

Let’s look at the facts.

Scott Sherwin and his family, who live across the street from Life Tabernacle Church has, since March 2020 (yes, that’s 6 years) committed more than 1,000 separate incidents of harassment against Pastor Spell, his family, and the members of Life Tabernacle, including the many who attend via the bus ministry.

This harassment has included:

Yelling obscenities at Pastor Spell, his family, and church members
Directing vulgar and obscene gestures (including “flipping them off” and grabbing his crotch) toward Pastor Spell, his family, and church members
Brandishing a weapon while making obscene gestures and yelling obscenities at church members
Yelled racial slurs, including the “N-word” at minority children and adults who attend the church
Yelled threats at Pastor Spell, his family, and church members

And yes, there are videos, photos, and eyewitness accounts of this activity, documenting 6 years of harassment.

Has Pastor Spell filed any police reports? Of course he has! It’s been 6 years of ongoing harassment. Yes, he has filed numerous police reports.

Yet the police have done nothing.

So the next logical assumption is that there must be more to this story.

And there most certainly is.

The Sherwins live directly across the street (Hooper Road) from Life Tabernacle Church. During COVID, law enforcement used his home a base where they monitored Pastor Spell (whose home is right next to the church), his family, the church members, and all activity on the church property.

This went on for several years.

During the COVID craziness, law enforcement had installed several (actually many) surveillance cameras along Hooper and Blackwater Roads (Life Tabernacle sits on the corner of these two roads). Inside the Sherwin home, there was a large screen that was connected to these cameras that allowed the police to monitor all activity of the Spells and the people of Life Tabernacle.

It is worth noting that one of these surveillance cameras was pointed directly at the Spell’s bedroom.

Needless to say, the Sherwins are buddy-buddy with the local law enforcement and are virtually untouchable.

And I won’t even go into the levels of corruption that infect the local legal system.

On June 23, 2026, there was an altercation involving Pastor Spell and the Sherwin’s adult son. The media has skewed the facts and altered the video – and left out some key facts. But Pastor Spell gave a press conference and brought some essential elements of this situation to light.

Everyone is asking, “Why did Pastor Spell cross the road to get to the guy?”

Because young Mr. Sherman threatened to rape Pastor Spell’s wife and grandchildren and murder them. He told Pastor Spell that when he goes out of town, young Mr. Sherman said he was going to rape them and murder them, then ended his threat with, “and what the “f” are you going to do about it?”

Please watch Pastor Spell’s press conference at the end of this post.

Based on the six years of harassment, this should be taken as a credible threat – and it was.

But contrary to the edited videos that are circulating, Pastor Spell did NOT throw the first punch. Young Mr. Sherman attacked him first. Pastor Spell only responded.

Righteous anger is biblical. Husbands are commanded by God Almighty to protect their wives and families. Pastors are to protect the members of the flock they are shepherding.

He defended them with his life.

This has to stop.

Laws need to be tougher and actually protect the victims instead of the criminals.

The Shermans need to be held accountable for the crimes they are committing, including hate crimes. Law enforcement should be held accountable for their massive failures to take action and for allowing the situation to escalate to the point where Pastor Spell’s wife and family were physically threatened.

And now you know the rest of the story.

NOTE: If you want to see a local perspective, visit these links: