Virginia Pastor Who Proudly Defied Stay-At-Home Orders Dies Of COVID-19

Defying stay-at-home orders -- even to attend a religious service -- isn't brave, it's misguided and potentially deadly.

Bishop Gerald O. Glenn, who proudly violated Virginia's order and preached to a full house at Richmond’s New Deliverance Evangelistic Church on March 22, came down with the coronavirus soon thereafter.

Now, Bishop Glenn is dead, likely due to complications from COVID-19. On top of that, the First Lady Marcietia Glenn is sick as well.

“I firmly believe that God is larger than this dreaded virus. You can quote me on that,” Glenn had said, repeating it a second time to claps, saying that “people are healed” in his church.

Calling himself "essential" as he "talks to God," the Bishop had vowed to keep his church open “unless I’m in jail or the hospital.”

According to their daughter, Mar-Gerie Crawley, Glenn did not realize that he had the disease at first because he had a preexisting condition, one that led to him having fevers and infections.

Crawley now urges everyone to stay home.

“I just beg people to understand the severity and the seriousness of this, because people are saying it’s not just about us, it’s about everyone around us.”