Cameron Caroling Event Scheduled In Malibu

MALIBU, CA — Kirk Cameron, the former star of "Growing Pains" and a recent flashpoint in the ongoing battle over coronavirus restrictions, will hold another Christmas Carol event at an undisclosed beach location in Malibu on Thursday evening. Cameron originally announced the event on his Instagram account, but has deleted the post as of Wednesday afternoon.

"New Year's Eve Sunset Singing & Prayer for Our Nation by Candlelight" will be the fourth of Cameron's caroling events. On Dec. 6, 13, and 22, as many as 500 people, mostly without masks, gathered at the parking lot of The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks —across the street from a COVID-19 testing site — to sing Christmas carols and protest the governor's stay-at-home order. The events drew widespread condemnation at a time when Southern California ICUs are at 0% capacity, but just as many supporters defended them as an expression of religious liberty and a joyous event during a bleak time.

The city of Malibu, which has counted 212 confirmed COVID-19 cases and five deaths since January, released a statement Wednesday afternoon calling the upcoming event "reckless and dangerous."

"At a time when the pandemic is at its most dangerous level since it began, such a gathering would be reckless and dangerous. Public and private gatherings are prohibited according to the Los Angeles County Public Health Order, and they put the Malibu community as well as first responders who may be dispatched to such events at risk," the statement said.

The city also reported that it and the Malibu Lost Hill Sheriff's station are "attempting to reach the organizer to inform them that they cannot hold an event in Malibu."

However, both the Sheriff's Station and the city itself walked back on the last statement, saying they will play the situation by ear, with staff on hand, which will include Lost Hills deputies, one or two city code enforcers, and staff from the Department of Beaches and Harbors.

"It's definitely in a gray area that's debatable," said Malibu Public Safety Manager Susan Dueñas. "I know there's controversy and a ruling on religious gatherings, but it's frustrating because we get calls from residents saying we have to do something, so we'll just have to play it by ear and see if it's something that can be cited...generally speaking we just try to get people to cooperate. We don't want to start brawls."

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health's latest guidelines prohibit events with people from more than one household, but make an exception for "faith-based services and outdoor political expression." The caroling event falls into the latter two categories. However, it also says that protesters must wear face coverings and maintain six feet of distance, which most did not do in Thousand Oaks.

Still, despite the code enforcers, it appears unlikely that any arrests will be made over masks or anything else, unless there is violence. No arrests were made at any of the Thousand Oaks events, despite a tussle with a counter protester.

"There's people's First Amendment rights we have to worry about, there's public safety we have to worry about, there's a lot different variables involved in any demonstration," said Sgt. Armstrong of the Malibu Lost Hills Sheriff's Department. "Law enforcement isn't so much the letter of the law so much as the spirit of the law, so we don't bring the hammer down unless it's absolutely necessary."

Dueñas, who said she got many calls from Malibu residents asking to stop the event, also expressed disapproval of the event. "I completely respect people's desire and right to pray and sing, but I feel like sometimes people like Kirk Cameron have no idea the effect they have," she said. "This is not even your community and you're bringing it to a community that's not inviting you. It uses up a lot of resources, so thank you very much. We have to divert our resources to deal with this."

Thousand Oaks Mayor Claudia Bill-de la Pena struck a similar tone earlier in the month about the gatherings in her city. "Liberty and freedom are very fragile and they come with great responsibility. Continuing to hold large gatherings and ignoring all guidelines, I feel, is un-Christian," she said.

The mall itself where the events were held also criticized the events. "The event occurring at The Oaks at this moment is a non-sanctioned event," officials from The Oaks mall said in a statement. "We continue to share our community's concerns over these irresponsible - yet constitutionally protected - events and have law enforcement on property. We reached out to the organizer to ask that the event be moved."

Cameron said the events are meant to provide hope during a dark time. "When I'm out Christmas caroling, I'm not trying to endanger people - I'm outside under the stars giving people hope, hoping that they catch a sense of God's goodness and his faithfulness and that they will be able to use common sense and good judgment," Cameron said in a recent Instagram post, where he also claimed that masks are not an effective way to counter the virus, and the true dangers of the epidemic are loneliness and depression.