The Sick Threats A Pastor Says Forced Him To Turn Violent

A heated feud between Pastor Tony Spell and his neighbors turned violent as the pastor sought to defend his family and congregation.

Spell, who is the pastor at Life Tabernacle Church in Central, Louisiana, was arrested for second-degree battery against his neighbor’s son, Scott Sherwin, after an altercation outside his church. Spell has been released on a $25,000 bond, according to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office.

Louisiana pastor beats up a man who allegedly threatened to r*pe and kill his wife and grandchildren.

Pastor Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church says he was working on a church bus when the neighbor’s son started shouting at him.

Spell said that it is his job as the natural… pic.twitter.com/v2ThlOEo3t

, Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 24, 2026

The New York Post reported that Spell gave Sherwin a total of 35 punches. Sherwin’s father said his son had to receive five stitches to his chin after the incident. Released footage of the incident appears to show Spell confronting the younger man.

Speaking at a news conference about the altercation, Spell claimed that Sherwin threatened to sexually assault and kill his family, WAFB reported.

“While this individual is walking up and down the shoulder of the road, he’s shouting vulgarities, profanities, and very nasty words towards my person, or myself,” Spell recalled. “And while I’m working on this particular bus, he said, Tony, I’m quoting him. He said, ‘Tony, I’m gonna rape your wife. I’m gonna rape all of your grandchildren.’ And he said, ‘The next time you go out of town, I’m going to kill them. And what the f*ck are you going to do about it?’”

“Number one, I’m a husband, number two, I’m a father, and number three, I’m a pastor who shepherds his flock,” he added. “I will not allow a man to murder my children when I’m gone.”

Spell also claimed that the Sherwin family has thrown vulgarities at his congregation, which is racially diverse and made up of vulnerable individuals, including people recovering from addiction.

“[My congregation is] constantly stalked by these individuals across the street. They are constantly intimidated with threats of bodily harm,” Spell said. “There’s not a person that’s come to this church that’s standing behind me in this meeting today who hasn’t been called the racial slur of the N word. Their children have been screamed at and shouted at with vulgarities.”

Spell appeared to make light of his actions to his congregation during a sermon by referencing Mark 16:18 from the Bible, WAFB reported.

“‘In my name, they shall lay hands on the sick. And they shall recover,’” he said. “So today, I fulfilled the Scripture. I laid hands on the sick. I don’t know how much recovery they’re going to have, but I laid hands on the sick.”

Spell’s lawyer, Jeff Wittenbrink, criticized the local police for negligence, stating that Spell had reported harassment multiple times previously and was ignored by the local authorities.

“There’s certainly a failure of laws and enforcers to keep the peace,” Wittenbrink said.

Corcoran disputed the claim that police failed to act on the Spells’ complaints. “Our records reflect only 5 incidents involving Pastor or Mrs. Spell in the past 4 years, and only one of those involved a complaint against their neighbors,” Corcoran said in a statement.

Corcoran has offered to investigate any failure by his department to respond to a complaint if Spell can provide the dates and times of the alleged unaddressed complaints.

Bad blood has reportedly existed between Spell and the Sherwin family for half a decade. Spell was ticketed for holding church services in person in violation of COVID-19 restrictions, the New York Post reported.

The Sherwin family allegedly set up surveillance cameras to monitor Spell and his violations of COVID protocol, prompting the pastor to sue the family.