Louisiana Pastor Tony Spell Ordered to Stay Away from Assault Victim as Bodycam Footage Reveals Homophobic Slur

Louisiana pastor Tony Spell must maintain a 50-yard distance from his neighbor’s property, a direct result of a protection order issued against him. This comes on the heels of bodycam footage that appears to show him using a homophobic slur to describe his alleged assault victim, just two days after his arrest.

Spell, 48, is prohibited from any form of communication with the neighbor, both online and in person, as mandated by the order issued on Friday.

The order explicitly states, “Mr. Spell may walk over and check his mailbox; other than checking his mailbox, he is to be 50 yards away from the protected person’s property.”

As the pastor of Baton Rouge's Life Tabernacle Church, Spell is set to appear in court in September. He faces charges of second-degree battery stemming from an assault that occurred last month outside the church.

In his defense, Spell claimed that Scott Sherwin’s son threatened to rape and kill his wife before he unleashed 35 blows during the altercation.

However, just two days after the fight, Sherwin reported Spell for allegedly mowing his lawn at 4 a.m., according to WBRZ.

“He’s doing this to intimidate my victim son,” Sherwin stated in bodycam footage. He questioned the responding officer, “Do you cut your grass at 4 in the morning?”

Sherwin expressed frustration, claiming his family was unable to sleep and accused Spell of conducting “psychological warfare.”

In a heated moment captured on video, Sherwin allegedly swore at Spell and flipped him off.

“I was asleep when this started at four in the morning,” he asserted, pointing aggressively at his phone.

The officer approached Spell, who was seated on his lawnmower, and asked for his name. Spell defiantly replied, “Everybody in the world knows my name.”

Facing up to eight years in prison if convicted, Spell then referred to Sherwin’s son with a derogatory term and seemed to revel in the violent encounter.

“He’s just sore because I beat the crap out of his f—-t boy,” he boasted. “And he’s next if he comes over here and harasses these boys,” he added while a group of teenagers gathered nearby.

Afterward, Spell started his lawnmower and told the boys to “get to work,” effectively ordering them away.

Following his release from jail, Spell defended his actions vehemently. “Number one, I’m a husband, number two, I’m a father, and number three, I’m a pastor who shepherds his flock,” he declared. “I will not allow a man to murder my children when I’m gone,” he told reporters.

Spell recounted what he claimed Sherwin’s son said that provoked the violent response. “He said, ‘Tony, I’m going to rape your wife, I’m going to rape all your grandchildren, and the next time you go out of town, I’m going to kill them,’” Spell alleged.

He addressed the incident during a sermon, likening it to “domestic terrorism” and referencing a Bible passage from Mark 16:18. “In my name, they shall lay hands on the sick. And they shall recover,” he quoted.

“So today, I fulfilled the scripture. I laid hands on the sick. I don’t know how much recovery they’re going to have, but I laid hands on the sick,” he stated.

Spell has been embroiled in a long-standing feud with Sherwin. In 2020, during the pandemic, he filed a lawsuit over surveillance cameras installed by Sherwin.

During COVID-19 restrictions, Spell was ticketed for holding in-person church services against Louisiana’s social distancing mandates.

He claimed the cameras were intended to monitor him.

In April 2020, Spell faced accusations of attacking a protester outside his church. Police alleged that he backed his church bus toward protester Trey Bennett but he was arrested for aggravated assault without formal charges ever being filed.