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Jury says rights were not violated

PITTSBURGH — A drug raid didn’t violate the religious rights of a loosely organized church group that claimed to spread its message by holding musical concerts, a jury found Friday.

The federal jury unanimously ruled against the claims by The Church of Universal Love and Music and some of its members, who used a property about 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh for large gatherings.

Fayette County zoning officials didn’t believe the group was a real church, and prosecutors said the concerts were a cover for illegal drug activity. The contested 2009 raid was conducted by the county’s drug task force.

The trial has its genesis in a more than decade-old zoning dispute and a previous civil rights lawsuit involving William Pritts, a feed mill operator who erected a concert stage and an amphitheater.

Fayette County zoning officials, responding to concerns about the weekend jam band festivals that Pritts promoted, denied his request for a special religious exemption.

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