Priest calls police on Black funeral attendees, kicks them out of church

 funeral last Tuesday in Charlotte Hall, Maryland, came to an abrupt end when one of the attendees accidentally knocked over a chalice and the priest responded by kicking them out and calling the police.

Agnes Hicks had been baptized at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church as a child, and according to her family had always wanted to have her funeral there as well. According to The Root,the funeral was going just fine until one attendee went to hug another, and in the process accidentally knocked over a chalice and damaged it. Pastor Michael Briese reportedly told the family, “There will be no funeral, no repast, everyone get the hell out of my church.”

Adding even further insult to the grieving family, Briese then also called the police, who arrived as the family was carrying Hicks’ casket out of the church. The police determined that family had done nothing wrong, and escorted them to a church in another county where they finished the funeral. People have taken to the internet to express their disbelief at Briese’s actions towards the family, some using the #MourningWhileBlack hashtag.