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RUTHERFORDTON, N.C. (AP) — The Associated Press and the Charlotte Observer have filed legal motions to gain access to documents and lift a gag order in the case of a North Carolina minister accused of orchestrating the beating of a congregant to expel his "homosexual demons."
The news outlets' motions Wednesday are related to the case of Brooke Covington, a minister at Word of Faith Fellowship church in Spindale, North Carolina. She is charged with kidnapping and assaulting Matthew Fenner in the church's sanctuary in 2013.
The judge declared a mistrial June 6 after the jury foreman brought unauthorized documents into deliberations. The judge sealed those documents and issued a gag order preventing witnesses, prosecutors, defense attorneys and jurors from discussing the case.
The news organizations' challenge was filed in Rutherford County Superior Court.
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