Senator Ted Cruz gathered with Houston area pastors on Thursday to address the City of Houston and Mayor Annise Parker’s “unchecked government power” and “assault on religious liberty.”

The event attracted a large press corps after the City of Houston received national attention after issuing subpoenas to pastors. Media outlets, including Breitbart Texas, reported that the City issued subpoenas to five Houston-area pastors. The subpoenas were for notes, sermons, and communications with congregants. Hundreds of concerned citizens and congregants of all nationalities and faiths attended the event which at times, seemed to be more like a prayer meeting.

Cruz received rousing cheers and applause when he told the crowd that “Caesar has no jurisdiction over the pulpit.” The Senator said “When you subpoena one pastor, you subpoena all pastors.”

Cruz stood with Ed Young and Pastor Gregg Matte from Houston mega-churches and many other pastors. He called the City of Houston’s actions a “stunning, undeniable, unconstitutional, abuse of governmental power by a city administration”. Cruz compared the city’s actions with that of the Internal Revenue Service and said the City’s actions were “part and parcel of the same explosion of government power” that has been occurring in the federal government.

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