A Louisiana pastor has claimed he was acting in accordance with scripture after being charged with second-degree battery following an alleged altercation with a local man.

Pastor Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church in Central, Louisiana, said he had "fulfilled the scripture" during the incident on 23 June.

He allegedly attacked a 20-year-old man who lives near the church, but Spell and members of his congregation claim the man had a history of harassing them with threats, insults and racial slurs.

Shortly after being released on bond from East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, Spell appeared to reference the incident during a sermon, USA Today reports.

"In my name, they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover," he said, adding: "I fulfilled the scripture, I laid hands on the sick. I don’t know how much recovery they’re going to have, but I laid hands on the sick."

Speaking at a news conference on 24 June, Spell alleged that he was changing batteries in church buses when the man began walking up and down the street "shouting vulgarities, profanities (and) very nasty words" at him.

He said he considered himself a "natural protector" of his family and congregation and believed he had "an obligation and a duty" to act.

The case remains under investigation.