Meridian church goes into lockdown mode after learning of charges

MERIDIAN -- Five of the Americans jailed in Haiti are members of Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian.

NewsChannel 7 waited all day long for any type of reaction from the church or family members, but so far we haven't received much.

When our crews were on scene earlier this morning we were told that church leaders, members and family members were inside having some type of a meeting.

We were also told that there would possibly be a chance to hear from those people sometime today.

To this point, our only communication with the church has come through notes taped to the doors of the church.

Before the latest note, another note asked members of the media to ring a bell and someone would come out and answer what questions they could.

That note went down and was replaced by one that reads, "No entrance. Thank you for your consideration."

Despite the lack of verbal communication, we received an e-mail from Drew Ham that read:

"I want you to understand that we are not upset with you but need to remain private. At this point, all our news comes from you. Therefore, we have nothing new to report. I will be sure to let you know when we have something to say."

A little after 4 p.m., the church set up another barrier to where you can't see inside the church.

This is a stark contrast to earlier this week when the church's pastor and family members of those arrested were available for interviews inside the church.

But since the charges came down this afternoon, the church has progressively become more locked down.