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A Georgia pastor's fight to continue horse trough baptisms goes to court

In his 2020 lawsuit against Moats and chief prison guard Al Sharp, Jarrard alleges violations of his constitutionally protected right to free speech. He just scored a legal victory by convincing the federal appeals court in Atlanta to allow his lawsuits to proceed after they were dismissed by a federal judge.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit said in a Sept. 16 ruling that there was sufficient evidence that Moats and Sharp did not share Jarrard's views on baptism. The court said it was reasonable to assume that Moats and Sharp had rejected Jarrard's requests to participate in the program because of that disagreement.

“They do not tolerate discussions of matters that lead to condemnation,” the court said of Moats and Sharp. “This, in our view, is pure and simple discrimination of opinion.”

The sheriff and attorneys representing him and Sharp in the case did not immediately respond to questions.

Moats publicly defended his Christian values ​​in 2021 when religious posts on his office's Facebook page were criticized. In his lawsuit documents, he said the fact that he has a “different theological perspective than Jarrard” was “certainly not a basis for a federal lawsuit.”

“I will always stand up for what I believe in! God, family and country,” he says on his personal Facebook page.

Jarrard, a retired firefighter, uses an 8-foot-long horse trough filled with water for the ceremony. He is a founding member of the Van Wert Church of Christ New Testament Fellowship and has also been involved in prison ministry programs in Cobb, Paulding and Floyd counties, case records show.

In applying for the Polk County Jail program, Jarrard said he has studied the Scriptures for over 40 years, is a certified counselor with New Life Behavior Ministry and a certified Bible teacher with American Rehabilitation Ministry.

In his statement of claim, he said he first volunteered in the Polk County Jail chaplaincy program in 2012 but was kicked out when he refused to stop teaching about baptism. He said he spent more than a year lobbying the jail and was then reinstated in the program, but his involvement was short-lived.

Jarrard claimed he was informed by Polk County Jail officials in 2017 that he was no longer allowed to enter the facility “because too many inmates were requesting baptism.” He said at the time, about 20 men and six women were actively requesting baptism.

“Sharp began actively explaining to inmates that the facility would not offer this service because baptism was not required for their salvation,” his complaint states.

In a 2019 letter to Jarrard's then-attorney, Moats said baptism was not a prerequisite for salvation and could wait until the inmate was released from prison. The sheriff said Jarrard was expelled from the ministry program because he engaged in disruptive behavior toward other members who did not share his “radical” religious views.

Jarrard questioned the religious beliefs of other members of the prison chaplaincy in the presence of inmates, creating doubt and confusion among those he was trying to convert, the sheriff said.

“He was verbally abusive and argumentative,” Moats wrote. “Anyone who believes in a doctrine that contradicts his own is, in his opinion, wrong.”

In his statement, Jarrard denied being abusive or argumentative.

Weber said there can be no discrimination between religions in a prison unless there are compelling security concerns. He said there were no such concerns in the context of Jarrard's participation in the program.

“Our client was targeted because of his belief that baptism was necessary for salvation within the context of Christianity,” Weber said. “And the sheriff had a different view on that issue and therefore retaliated against him and then removed his volunteer position.”

In the lawsuit, Moats and Sharp said Jarrard's request to rejoin the Polk County Jail program was denied in part because of his “history of conflict.” They claimed he had been kicked out of other prison programs because of his views on baptism and disruptive actions.

The 11th Circuit found that the policies implemented by Moats and Sharp regarding the prison chaplaincy program were too vague and violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Jarrard's attempts to rejoin the program were denied without explanation based on these policies.

“After it was removed, we had to reapply every time they issued a new policy,” Weber said. “And every time we reapplied, it was denied.”

The court also found that Moats and Sharp did not enjoy immunity from Jarrard's claims.

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