“A South Bay church has stopped hosting illegal indoor services after the threat of an injunction from the county, ending a weeks-long standoff that captured national attention and ultimately cost the church more than $100,000 in fines. North Valley Baptist Church in Santa Clara, which has racked up $112,750 for defying the local public health order with indoor gatherings, brought its Wednesday church service outside this week once Santa Clara County officials said they planned to file a temporary restraining order against the church, confirmed county counsel James Williams. ‘I don’t see how you can justify the complete closure of churches in California,’ said Liberty Counsel’s founder Mat Staver. ‘To suggest that a pandemic can simply erase constitutional rights is frankly a very frightening proposition.’”
“After threat of injunction, Santa Clara church backs away from indoor services,” The Mercury News, Sept. 13, 2020