Watauga church that preaches violence toward LGBTQ community will stay in its building
An eviction hearing involving the anti-gay Stedfast Baptist Church was canceled Wednesday morning after the landlord and the church reached an agreement.
R. David Weaver, an Arlington attorney representing the church, had told the Star-Telegram Tuesday afternoon that there was an agreement to allow Stedfast to remain in the building, but he declined to provide details.
The case was in Justice of the Peace Court No. 1, and a notice on the website stated that an 8 a.m. hearing was canceled.
Stedfast moved into a strip center at 6900 Denton Highway in May after the church was evicted from its Hurst location in February. The church was evicted for openly threatening violence, which violated the terms of its lease.
After the church moved to Watauga, protesters gathered outside of the church on Sundays and Wednesdays, when the congregation held services.
Brandy Sottilo, who helped organize the protests against Stedfast Baptist, said she was disappointed, but not too surprised that the eviction hearing was canceled.
“I figured something was up when I heard about the settlement,” she said.
Sottilo began protesting against the church when it was in Hurst and she won’t quit until Stedfast is gone.
She said the protests will resume Sunday morning. She said she is considering going to Dallas to protest at Cider Property, the company that leases to the church. Sottilo said she has called the company and its attorney frequently, but never got a response about her concerns.
“If you allow a group that advocates hate to lease one of your buildings, we will continue to protest your business. I’m not going anywhere,” Sottilo said.
This story was originally published September 7, 2022 at 10:08 AM.