The delivery of Christian prayers prior to county government meetings is a tradition that won’t dissipate anytime soon, as long as some Lincoln County commissioners have their way.

In response to a question concerning Rowan County, which was recently ordered by a federal court judge to cease its pre-meeting prayers, Lincoln County Board of Commissioners chairman Carrol Mitchem said that not only will invocations remain in Lincoln County, but that he would see to it that no non-Christian prayers are delivered on his watch.

“A Muslim? He comes in here to say a prayer, I’m going to tell him to leave,” Mitchem said. “I have no use for (those) people. They don’t need to be here praying to Allah or whoever the hell they pray to. I’m not going to listen to (a) Muslim pray.”

In a ruling filed on Monday, Judge James A. Beaty ruled that Rowan County violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution. According to the court document, commissioners there started each meeting with phrases such as “let us pray” or “please pray with me” before delivering the prayer. Those prayers normally included references to “Jesus” and “The Savior.”

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit in 2013.

According to Chris Brook, legal director of the ACLU of North Carolina, Rowan commissioners erred by leading public meetings with prayer, asking the public to participate in that prayer, making derogatory comments about religious minorities to the press and almost uniformly confining the prayers to one religion.

“I think that governmental officials should aim to have public meetings that are as inclusive and welcoming as possible,” Brook said. “We talk all the time as a society about wanting to encourage greater public engagement with our government and have greater public involvement in government decisions. When you construct obstacles such as obstructive prayer practices, then I think you’re falling short of an ideal government meeting that is welcoming and encouraging.”

Beaty awarded the plaintiffs $1 in damages and said that they may pursue attorney’s fees and costs from the county.

Mitchem said he doesn’t agree with anybody, religious minorities especially, altering the way things are done.

“Changing rules on the way the United States was founded, Constitution was founded (I don’t like),” Mitchem said. “I don’t need no Arab or Muslim or whoever telling me what to do or us here in the county what to do about praying. If they don’t like it, stay the hell away.”