CMPD tells preacher who claimed to have COVID-19 symptoms to stop services

CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte preacher claims he had COVID-19 symptoms and still held services packed with people.

Pastor Brian Carn allegedly conducted service at Kingdom City Church on Dr. Carver Drive on Easter Sunday, and it’s raising eyebrows.

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“Does the devil fight my body?” Carn could be heard saying in an audio recording. “Of course. Just like he fights your body. Did I get the shakes? Yup. Did I cough? Yup. Did I feel pain in my body? Whatever.”

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Carn allegedly was talking about being infected with the virus.

Channel 9 learned Thursday that Carn has now agreed not to hold any more in-person services after he was contacted by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

He held a crowded church service on Easter wearing no protection and getting close to his congregation, according to the London Daily Mail. His members refer to him as a prophet, and he urged them to believe in God’s healing power.

“Death obeys me,” he said.

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Carn asked his followers to not be honest about where they attend church if they got sick and felt like the needed to go to the doctor.

“But don’t tell ‘em you go to KCC,” Carn said in the audio recording. “Please tell them you go to First Baptist, Elevation or St. Matthews Methodist. Let’s fight the good fight of faith.”

Channel 9 reporter Glenn Counts went to Carn's home and a woman said he was not around and would not answer any questions.

"We just want to be fair to him,” Counts told the woman at the home. “Does he have coronavirus, and did he spread it recklessly at church?”

The woman shut the door without answering.

Channel 9′s Mark Becker spoke with some neighbors who said they have seen other Sunday services.

“This is very irresponsible that he’s doing it because he’s risking not just his congregation but everybody else out here, as well,” said neighbor Jacqueline Seegars.

Another nearby resident, named CeeCee, said she can see the church from her front door and what she has seen the last few Sundays has her puzzled.

“The parking lot be full. They park on the side street. And I mean, it doesn’t make no sense,” she said.

Carn took to social media late Wednesday night to reinforce his message of faith. He didn’t talk about his agreement to stop holding services, but police said he told them he would.

“That’s how we need to get about this virus, about sickness, about poverty, about anything. Anytime you see something attacking the body of Christ, attacking you, you need to say within yourself, how dare you touch the army of God," Carn said in a Facebook Live.

One woman emailed Channel 9 and said she is a member of Kingdom City Church. She wrote that Carn, “did not encourage the members to lie about where they attended church. That was taken out of context and was really meant to be an inside joke for the members of KCC."

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