A federal judge has ruled that a California church must pay $1.2 million in fines for defying Covid-19 safety regulations.

The San Jose Calvary Chapel was fined earlier this month for not upholding Santa Clara County mask mandates from November 2020 to June 2021. The chapel originally faced $2.8 million in fines, but then countersued the county for violations of religious freedom.

The church’s attorney, Mariah Gondeiro, stated that the masking orders were unconstitutional because they were not applied equally among all people. The church plans to appeal the most recent court ordered fines, Gondeiro said.