TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A Republican candidate for governor has withdrawn his request for a court order that would allow him to conduct one-on-one, in-person prayer sessions in his backyard.
Candidate Joshua Freed sued Gov. Jay Inslee, calling Inslee’s stay-home order against COVID-19 a violation of his rights. The governor’s office, however, insisted that in-person religious counseling is not necessarily barred by his order.
After the attorney general’s office assured Freed during a federal court hearing Friday that there was no chance he would face enforcement for conducting socially distanced, one-on-one prayer sessions outside, Freed’s attorneys agreed to drop their request for the court order.