Pa. music church settles suit, bans concerts

BEARS ROCKS, Pa. (AP) — A western Pennsylvania man will permanently stop having jam band concerts he says were religious services to settle a federal lawsuit he filed three years ago.

William Pritts sued Fayette County in 2006, saying zoning restrictions that stopped the concerts violated his religious freedom as head of his Church of Universal Love and Music.

Earlier this year, the county paid Pritts $75,000 and agreed to let him host 12 concerts a year, provided drugs and other illegal activities were banned. But the county got a temporary court order to ban the concerts in August after 22 people were arrested at a concert on Pritts’ farm, about 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

The court agreement to permanently ban the concerts was filed late Monday.

Pritts has said he plans to move the church to another county.