Pa. music church amends civil-rights complaint

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A self-described church whose services consisted largely of jam band concerts says an officer shoved a gun into one man’s face and lifted a 14-year-old girl’s shirt and bra during an August 2009 raid on its southwestern Pennsylvania grounds.

Those allegations and more come in an amended federal civil rights complaint filed Thursday by the Church of Universal Love and Music against Fayette County.

The complaint also claims police pulled down a woman’s shirt and skirt in front of a group of men and didn’t identify themselves as officers before forcing concert attendees to the ground. Twenty-two people were arrested.

The county and church founder had settled a long-running zoning dispute a few months before the raid.

Fayette County’s attorney tells the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review the new complaint is being reviewed.