ASHLAND, Ky. — April Miller and Karen Roberts will return to the Rowan County Courthouse today for the fifth time since June to ask for a marriage license.

Only this time, clerk Kim Davis will not be there to stop them. Instead, she will be sitting in jail, ordered there by a federal judge who found her in contempt for refusing to follow his order that she issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning offered to release Davis if she promised not to interfere with her employees issuing licenses, but she refused. She told the judge her mother-in-law pleaded with her to go to church from her deathbed four years ago. She did, converting to Christianity and the belief that gay marriage is a sin.

After sending Davis to jail, Bunning threatened each of her six employees with the same fate if they followed her lead and refused to comply with his order. Five of the six deputy clerks told Bunning they would issue the licenses. The sixth clerk, Kim Davis’ son, was the holdout.

At one point, Bunning looked at Davis’ son Nathan and warned him not to interfere with his fellow employees today. The judge said he did not want “any shenanigans,” like the staff closing the office for computer upgrades as they did briefly last week.

“That would show a level of disrespect for the court’s order,” Bunning said. He added: “I’m hoping that cooler heads will prevail.”

Davis’ son sat stoically as the judge questioned the clerks, some of whom were reluctant.

“I don’t really want to, but I will comply with the law,” deputy clerk Melissa Thompson said, weeping while she stood before the packed courtroom. “I’m a preacher’s daughter and this is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.”

“I don’t hate anybody,” she added. “None of us do.”