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Oh Lord! Woman Arrested for Praising the Lord Too Loudly

By Andrew Lu on June 13, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Praise the lord! Just not too loud.

A Tennessee woman, Betty Jones, was arrested for praising the lord too loudly.

It all began one Sunday in May when Jones, 54, went through her normal routine of a five-hour prayer session that included praising and dancing in her home while blasting the music of Randy Travis, Alan Jackson, and The Judds, reports The Associated Press.

Again, that's five hours of loud prayer. Understandably, Jones' neighbors complained about the music and police arrived at the woman's home and told her to tone it down. Jones did so. For less than two hours.

After cranking the bass back up, police returned to the woman's home on another noise complaint, and this time they cited her for excessive noise. Not willing to give up on God's work, Betty Jones continued her loud prayer leading to her being arrested for praising the very next day.

Ignoring the noise citation, Jones went about her loud prayer session, but this time adding some cursing into the mix. Police (and her neighbors) finally had enough, and Jones was charged with disorderly conduct. Disorderly conduct can be a catch-all crime that makes it illegal to disturb the peace, loiter, or engage in other unruly behavior like praying too loudly. Betty Jones actually had to spend a night in jail for the crime.

Betty Jones' arrest was fairly unnecessary. She was given many opportunities to lower the volume of her prayer session. But she ignored her neighbors' complaints, a police citation, and eventually had to spend a night in jail. Still, a night in jail may be a small price to pay for an eternity of salvation, right?

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