Suspects accused of heckling Joel Osteen make court appearance
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Six people accused of heckling Lakewood Church Pastor Joel Osteen appeared in court Friday.
The defendants face trespassing charges. A judge ordered them to stay 200 feet away from Lakewood Church and not to have any contact with Joel Osteen or his wife, Victoria.
The group is from an east Texas Church and were removed from Lakewood on Sunday after heckling Osteen during a sermon. These defendants say they wanted to disrupt his message.
"We went there to disrupt the peace of that religious service because we don't believe that it is true religion," said Jake Gardener. "We don't believe that it is pure religion."
Lakewood Church says it takes the disruption of its services seriously. Lakewood also says it plans to pursue all other legal remedies against these individuals and their church.
