(CNN) Several churches around the country held services Palm Sunday, some in defiance of state bans on gatherings aimed at stopping the deadly spread of coronavirus.

"We don't get our rights to worship freely from the government we get those from God," said the Rev. Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. "We'd rather obey God than man."

Spell held another massive service at Life Tabernacle despite being charged multiple times last week for violating the state ban.

About 1,220 people attended, some bused in and others driving more than 100 miles to attend, Spell told CNN. Spell has previously told CNN he believes the pandemic is "politically motivated."

The Rev. Alvin Gwynn Sr. of Friendship Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland, said he had a steady stream of people walking through the church, processional style, careful not to have more than eight or nine.

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