Sean Feucht, a Christian singer and volunteer pastor who’s been notoriously defying COVID-19 mandates, still plans to hold a three-day New Year’s celebration in Los Angeles.
Feucht and his followers have planned a “massive outreach” effort for the homeless population on LA’s Skid Row for Wednesday night (Dec. 30), as well as one Thursday morning in Echo Park followed by a New Year’s Eve party-turned-concert in Valencia, Calif., that evening, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The 37-year-old artist began holding “Let Us Worship” concerts, where maskless worshippers sang and danced together in outdoor-yet-tightknit spaces as a way to push back against restrictions on religious gatherings during the pandemic.
Earlier this week, Feucht posted a promotional video ahead of the NYE celebrations he’s planning in LA, which featured footage from his previous “Let Us Worship” concerts nationwide. “We’re gonna party in the New Year together in Los Angeles and broadcast live to the world!!” he captioned the clip. “You DO NOT wanna miss this!!”
LA Councilman Kevin de León, who represents Skid Row, told the LA Times that his office, alongside Mayor Eric Garcetti’s staff, distributed personal protective equipment (PPE) and sanitation kits to those experiencing homelessness earlier Wednesday. “Our expectation is that those attending the scheduled outreach event take steps to care for our community and protect vulnerable Angelenos on Skid Row by wearing masks and honoring social distancing guidelines,” he said in a statement.
Charles Karuku, one of Feucht’s associates who travels with him, said their camp tells their followers to observe government officials’ health protocols, “but we are not law enforcement. It’s up to the people how they choose to come.”
Feucht’s events come one day after California’s regional stay-at-home order was extended for the foreseeable future due to a record spike in COVID-19 cases and Intensive Care Units across Southern California being at 0 percent capacity. On Wednesday, the state also reported its first case of a new, more contagious strain of the virus that was first identified in the U.K. and has now made it to the U.S.
