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CENTRAL, La. (AP) — A police department in Louisiana says its phones have been inundated by callers looking to voice their support of a pastor who was accused of attempting to run someone over while violating a ban on mass gatherings.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, police in the city of Central apologized to residents who couldn’t get through to the agency.

Authorities say a huge amount of calls supporting Life Tabernacle Church Pastor Tony Spell have tied up the line. Police Chief Roger Corcoran said Spell’s mother shared the department’s number, encouraging people to inundate the phones.

Corcoran asked residents to call 911 in the event of an emergency.