Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne has closed his Florida church in order to protect it from a ”tyrannical government.”

Mr Howard-Browne closed the doors to his church on Monday after being arrested for holding two Sunday services the day before.

He was arrested for unlawful assembly and violating quarantine orders during a public health emergency and was freed after posting $500 bail.

Speaking on his YouTube livestream show on Wednesday, Mr Howard-Browne said that he didn’t make the decision because of the coronavirus outbreak.

“I have to do this to protect the congregation – not from the virus but from a tyrannical government,” Mr Howard-Browne said.

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He then accused the World Health Organisation (WHO) of using the pandemic for its own gains.

“The World Health Organisation has come in and is using a pandemic to take over not just America, but the whole of the world,” he said on Wednesday.

He added that he had the support of the governor a week ago, but said that he “caved like a deck of cards” after public pressure.

Despite closing the church, Mr Howard-Browne explained that he’s not “making any decisions based on the threats from the Sheriff’s office or not – I make decisions based on what the Lord tells me to do".

“The Lord told me on Monday, if I don’t do this, there’s going to be a showdown at the OK Corral.”

Last week Pastor Tony Spell refused to close his church in Louisiana, despite strict social distancing measures in place.

“If they close every door in this city, then I will close my doors,” Mr Spell told CNN on Tuesday. “But you can’t say the retailers are essential but the church is not. That is a persecution of the faith.”

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, upwards of 236,339 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 5,648.