By Michael Gryboski, Editor Monday, November 03, 2025

A church leader who is one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit accusing a Tennessee sheriff of trying to force his congregation to oust a pastor has been charged with theft.

Daniel Scott Pate, a deacon at Old Horseshoe Freewill Baptist Church in Elizabethton, was arrested Tuesday and charged with theft of property between $10,000 and $60,000.

At issue are allegations that Pate was paid for several remodeling jobs this year, but never began the projects despite being paid approximately $30,000, reported local outlet WCYB.

Upon his arrest, Pate was booked into the Carter County Jail and then posted a $10,000 bond, according to WCYB, with him being slated to appear in court at a later date.

Last month, Pate and Old Horseshoe Freewill Baptist Pastor Rick Miller filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee against members of the Carter County Sheriff Department.

The complaint alleges that Carter County Sheriff Mike Fraley and several deputies arrived armed, in uniform and without a warrant at the church last year during a prayer service.

The police were summoned at the behest of former church members who had resigned from Old Horseshoe Freewill Baptist after a previous pastor left, according to the lawsuit.

“The deputies were going to force a vote between former church members and the current church members when the matter had already been settled,” claimed the suit.

After almost 30 minutes of arguing with authorities, Pate locked up the church and set the alarm, with congregants leaving the property and authorities eventually doing likewise.

Multiple services afterwards were canceled as a precaution, according to the complaint, with county authorities allegedly surveilling the church for some time afterwards.

The lawsuit accuses county authorities of violating the Fourth Amendment and the First Amendment, as well as civil conspiracy, deprivation of substantive due process, obstruction of worship, violating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and violating police procedures.

In a statement to WCYB last month, Sheriff Fraley said that his office had “received a copy of the document that is circulating through social media and news reports, and we are carefully reviewing it, and the allegations contained therein.”

“We are aware there are serious concerns in the community regarding this potential lawsuit, and that is rightly so. The allegations contained in these documents are extremely serious, and we are taking them very seriously,” he said.

“However, until we have been officially served, we cannot comment on what is, at this point, a non-event. As this progresses, and once we are actually served with official court documents, we will keep the public informed, and we will address the allegations contained in the complaint and whether or not they have any merit.”