Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County, Florida, has refused to back down after an atheist group complained he violated the First Amendment by giving a church sermon in his law enforcement uniform.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter Monday warning the sheriff that preaching in uniform “sends a message of exclusion” to non-Christians, The Tampa Tribune reported.

“You cannot preach in church as Sheriff Judd, you must do so as Mr. Judd, private citizen,” the foundation said.

“I found it humorous and entertaining,” Sheriff Judd told The Tribune. “They obviously mischaracterized the sermon I preached. I was shocked. It is most bizarre.”

The sheriff said he plans to give a sermon on Father’s Day at the Fellowship Assembly of God in Lakeland.

“I’m gonna wear my uniform — you can guarantee it,” he told a local NBC affiliate.

The foundation’s letter was spurred by the sheriff’s April 19 sermon at Lakeland’s First Baptist Church at the Mall, titled, “Wouldn’t the World be a Better Place if Everyone Behaved like a Christian.”

There, Sheriff Judd spoke of faith-based practices he’d implemented at the Polk County Jail, where hundreds of inmates had been baptized while serving their sentences, NBC reported.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.