Latest First Amendment Religion Us News | ӣ��Ƶ

One of nation's largest Christian foster agencies will not allow LGBTQ couples to adopt children

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 13:51:57 -0400

One of the nation's largest Christian foster care and adoption agencies will no longer allow LGBTQ couples to foster or adopt children through its programs, clarifying a years-old policy and citing a renewed commitment to its religious beliefs.

Bethany Christian Services announced the change in a press release Wednesday, saying future foster families must align with the organization's statement of faith and belief.

"Clarity around our Christian identity is essential to our Christian witness and critical to the long-term health, sustainability and impact of our mission," Keith Cureton, CEO of Bethany Christian Services, told ӣ��Ƶ Digital in a statement.

MASSACHUSETTS FOSTER PARENTS STRIPPED OF LICENSE FOR REFUSING TO SIGN TRANSGENDER POLICY

"We believe this clarity strengthens our ministry, honors those we serve and reinforces alignment with partners who share our faith convictions."

Bethany Christian Services, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was founded in 1944, and is a faith-based non-for-profit that serves over 25 U.S. states and is "dedicated to helping children and families thrive."

"This work is about reinforcing the Christian foundation that has guided our organization for more than 80 years," a spokesperson for Bethany Christian Services told ӣ��Ƶ Digital in a statement Friday.

"These actions flow from our conviction that faithfulness to God’s word must remain central to our mission of demonstrating the love and compassion of Jesus through quality social services. Beginning June 2027, Bethany will only license and re-license foster families whose Christian faith and beliefs align with our Statement of Faith and Belief.

"We will communicate directly with families to help them understand expectations and next steps. Families who are not aligned with Bethany Christian Services' statement of faith and belief and Christian mission will be supported through a thoughtful transition process."

COLORADO PLEDGES NOT TO ENFORCE GENDER IDENTITY RULES FOR CHRISTIAN CHILDREN'S CAMP AFTER LAWSUIT

The "God’s design for marriage" section in the statement of faith and belief dated June 2027 says, "We believe God designed the family as the primary structure for love, care, and human flourishing. We work to strengthen families and preserve them whenever possible. We affirm the biblical design of marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman, established by God to reflect His love and faithfulness. This covenant reflects Christ’s love and provides a stable, nurturing environment for children."

The press release also clarified, "The organization will continue to serve all children and families who seek its help, regardless of their individual circumstances, beliefs, or background. Bethany will do so motivated by its Christian faith and in accordance with its sincerely held Christian beliefs."

DEMOCRATIC STATES SUE TRUMP ADMIN OVER ENDING SEX CHANGE SURGERIES FOR MINORS

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Dozens of anti-ICE protesters won't face state charges for storming Minnesota church service, prosecutor says

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 11:11:33 -0400

Dozens of anti-ICE protesters, including former CNN journalist Don Lemon, will avoid state criminal charges after storming a Minnesota church service in January — a decision church leaders blasted as effectively giving activists a free pass to disrupt religious worship.

St. Paul City Attorney Irene Kao said in a statement Wednesday that her office would not pursue charges, saying the available evidence did not support prosecution under Minnesota law.

"Following a careful evaluation of the video footage, investigative reports, and other available materials, prosecutors determined that the current evidence is insufficient to meet that standard for criminal charges under Minnesota state statutes," the statement said.

Federal prosecutors have already charged 39 people, including Lemon and another independent journalist, with civil rights violations tied to the disruption. The federal cases remain pending.

ANTI-ICE MOB STORMS MINNESOTA CHURCH OVER PASTOR'S ALLEGED TIES TO IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

The city prosecutor’s decision drew a sharp rebuke from leaders at Cities Church, where demonstrators interrupted worship services on Jan. 18 to protest federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.

"According to the St. Paul City Attorney’s logic, it is perfectly fine for agitators to invade a mosque, a cathedral, or a temple, intimidate the families and children inside, and shut down their religious gathering. Just call it a ‘protest,’" lead pastor Jonathan Parnell said.

The protest targeted the church after activists learned that one of its pastors also served as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official involved in a major federal enforcement operation in Minnesota. The agitators were heard in videos chanting "Justice for Renee Good," referencing the fatal shooting of the 37-year-old at the hands of federal agents.

LEFTIST PASTOR CALLS MINNESOTA CHURCH INVASION DIVINE JUDGMENT ON 'MAGA EVANGELICALS' AMID DOJ PROBE

Kao stressed that the decision not to file state charges "should not be interpreted as an endorsement of unlawful behavior or public disorder."

"The right to peacefully protest is protected, as is the right to exercise one’s religious beliefs," she said. "Balancing these equally important rights is paramount to our decision today."

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Kao noted that the demonstration did not involve violence, property damage or threats to public safety. Attorneys representing the church argued that the absence of broken windows or vandalism does not mean no laws were broken.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Christian lifeguard who refused pride flag duties and was suspended is now headed toward trial

Mon, 25 May 2026 10:00:53 -0400

A Christian lifeguard for the Los Angeles County Fire Department who says he was punished for his religious beliefs after objecting to Pride flag duties is headed toward trial.

Captain Jeffrey Little, a veteran of more than 20 years in the L.A. County Fire Department's Lifeguard Division, sued Los Angeles County and several fire department supervisors in 2024 after the county adopted a policy in 2023 requiring the Progress Pride flag be flown at county facilities throughout June to honor LGBTQ Pride month.

Little, a devout Christian, argued the policy conflicted with his religious beliefs about marriage and sexuality and sought a religious accommodation exempting him from personally raising the flag or ensuring subordinates raised it. Little said the county initially granted this accommodation before revoking it just two days later.

Little took down several flags and was later placed under investigation and ultimately suspended for 15 days without pay.

UTAH BANS LGBTQ+ PRIDE FLAGS, MAGA FLAGS, OTHER UNAPPROVED FLAGS IN GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS, SCHOOLS

The county says Little was not punished for his religious beliefs but for taking down government-issued Pride flags without authorization and violating department policy.

Little's attorney, Paul Jonna of the Thomas More Society, told ӣ��Ƶ Digital that Little took down the flags under the belief he was acting within the accommodation granted by the county and with the understanding that some stations were not required to fly the Pride flag because they lacked sufficient clasps under the county’s own flag policy. Jonna said other Pride flags had previously been removed from stations earlier that month for the same reason.

WISCONSIN SKI PARK FACES LAWSUIT AFTER ALLEGEDLY FIRING EMPLOYEE FOR SHARING BIBLE VERSES ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Jonna also said there were other lifeguards who "vandalized and desecrated" the LGBTQ flag but were either not disciplined or were given shorter suspensions than Little, whom he says went through the proper channels to request a religious accommodation for flying the flag.

The lawsuit alleges Little faced retaliation, harassment and discrimination after requesting the accommodation. It also claims Lifeguard Division Chief Fernando Boiteux told Little that his "religious beliefs don’t matter," an allegation the county disputes.

Jonna said the case is now being prepared for trial after a hearing last week, in which a federal judge issued a sealed ruling granting in part and denying in part both the county’s motion for summary judgment and Little’s motion for partial summary judgment.

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Little says he is not asking the county to end its Pride flag policy but is seeking a permanent religious accommodation exempting him from personally raising the flag or directing others to do so, along with damages and removal of disciplinary findings from his personnel file.

"At the end of the day, the law requires favored treatment for religious beliefs and the county's message to him and to others like him that their religious beliefs don't matter clearly is unconstitutional and discriminatory," Jonna said.

The LA County Fire Department did not immediately return ӣ��Ƶ Digital's request for comment.

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Federal employees accuse USDA secretary of 'Christian proselytizing' in holiday emails to staff

Thu, 14 May 2026 16:05:11 -0400

Federal employees are suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Secretary Brooke Rollins, accusing the Trump official of "Christian proselytizing" after she sent department emails on Christmas and Easter with religious messages.

The complaint, brought by the National Federation of Federal Employees and seven USDA employees, accuses Rollins of "sending increasingly proselytizing communications to the entire USDA workforce, promoting her own preferred brand of Christian beliefs and theology to the captive audience of employees that report to her," since becoming head of the government agency in February 2025.

In the complaint, the plaintiffs say Rollins sent emails to all USDA employees on national and religious holidays, most overtly on Easter, with Christian language.

The Easter message sent by Rollins reportedly said, in part, "Happy Easter – He is Risen indeed! Today we celebrate the greatest story ever told, the foundation of our faith, and the abiding hope of all mankind." A drawing of an empty tomb with the words "Christ is Risen" was in the same email, according to the complaint.

TRUMP ADMIN ISSUES NEW GUIDANCE TO PROTECT RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION ACROSS FEDERAL WORKFORCE

This email was part of a broader pattern of religious messages sent on other holidays, the complaint alleges, starting with an email on July 4 that included the line, "May God continue to protect the United States of America and may His favor shine over all her land."

Rollins also sent a video message before Christmas that referred to Jesus as "our Savior," according to the complaint.

The plaintiffs, who include employees of various faith backgrounds as well as nonreligious employees, say the emails amount to "coercion, religious sermonizing and denominational preference" that leaves them feeling "excluded and unwelcome" in the workplace.

FOOD-STAMP FRAUD NUMBERS EXPOSE WHICH STATES ARE DRAINING THE MOST TAXPAYER DOLLARS

"Notwithstanding that fear of retaliation, Plaintiffs from across the agency together bring this action to vindicate their constitutional right to be free from the government imposition of religion and to stop the Secretary from further pressuring and intimidating them — and other USDA employees who may be afraid to come forward," the complaint reads.

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The plaintiffs argue the emails constitute an ongoing practice and policy that violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause and the Administrative Procedure Act. They are asking the court to declare these "proselytizing religious communications" unlawful and stop Rollins or other USDA officials from sending similar messages.

The complaint was filed May 13 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Democracy Forward and Bryan Schwartz Law, P.C., are representing the union and USDA employees in the complaint, which names Rollins and the USDA as defendants.

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When reached for comment, a USDA spokesperson told ӣ��Ƶ Digital, "While we do not comment on pending litigation, we will keep the plaintiffs in our prayers during this process."

Secretary Rollins also responded to the lawsuit by sharing on X, "It’s just another opportunity to remind everyone: He is Risen."

Christian counselors challenge Wisconsin conversion therapy ban after Supreme Court ruling

Wed, 13 May 2026 17:00:39 -0400

A Wisconsin rule restricting "conversion therapy" is being challenged in federal court by two Christian counselors who say the regulation is unconstitutional and violates their First Amendment rights.

Counselors Terri Koschnick and Joy Buchman, represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Tony Evers’ administration, seeking to overturn a state regulation that deems it "unprofessional conduct" for a licensed counselor, social worker or marriage and family therapist to employ or promote an intervention or method "that has the purpose of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity."

The lawsuit argues the Wisconsin rule is "materially identical" to a Colorado law challenged in Chiles v. Salazar, a recent U.S. Supreme Court case involving a Christian counselor’s First Amendment challenge to restrictions on counseling related to sexual orientation and gender identity.

SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS BAN ON SO-CALLED 'CONVERSION THERAPY' ON FIRST AMENDMENT GROUNDS

In the 8-1 ruling, the court held that Colorado’s law, as applied to talk therapy, regulated speech based on viewpoint and required more rigorous scrutiny. The majority said the law allowed counselors to affirm a minor client’s sexual orientation or gender identity, while barring counseling aimed at helping a client change those feelings or identity.

Koschnick, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and Buchman, a licensed professional counselor, say they provide faith-based talk therapy to clients who voluntarily seek counseling consistent with their religious beliefs.

Their lawsuit argues the Wisconsin rule violates their First and 14th Amendment rights by regulating their speech and penalizing them for their religious views. The complaint also argues the rule is vague and unenforceable.

WILL is asking the court to declare the Wisconsin rule unconstitutional and block state officials from enforcing it.

WILL Deputy Counsel Rebecca Furdek said the Evers administration was notified about the group’s viewpoint discrimination concerns after the Supreme Court ruling but refused to change course.

"Wisconsin’s rule is materially indistinguishable from Colorado’s statute held to be viewpoint discrimination by SCOTUS. When we notified the Evers administration of this fact, we were met with a blatant refusal to follow the Supreme Court holding, along with inflammatory, baseless rhetoric accusing WILL of ‘bullying’ children and Wisconsinites," Furdek said in a statement.

"However, Wisconsin counselors have every right to provide Christ-centered talk therapy to the clients who seek them out for that type of counseling."

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In a May 5 letter responding to WILL and Wisconsin Family Action, Evers said his administration had "no intention of repealing Wisconsin’s conversion therapy ban" and argued the groups’ demand relied on "a significant misreading" of the Supreme Court’s ruling. Evers said the practice is "at best, ineffective and, at worst, dangerous," according to the Wisconsin Examiner.

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At the time of the Chiles ruling, about two dozen states and Washington, D.C., had laws similar to Colorado’s in place.

Evers’ office did not immediately return ӣ��Ƶ Digital’s request for comment.

ӣ��Ƶ' Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.

DOJ alleges 'systematic culture' of anti-Christian bias across federal agencies under Biden

Sat, 02 May 2026 15:45:33 -0400

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed Saturday that a Department of Justice investigation uncovered a "systematic culture" of anti-Christian bias across federal agencies during the Biden administration.

Blanche joined "Saturday in America" to discuss the 565-page report that details how the Biden-era FBI monitored Catholic priests and the IRS denied tax-exempt status to a Christian organization based on its religious teachings.

"What we found in that very deep, substantial report is it was much more than just a rogue agent. It was much more than just a field office or a prosecutor," Blanche told Kayleigh McEnany.

"It was actually a systematic culture issue at the Department of Justice to target Christians, to target people based upon their religious beliefs."

DOJ TASK FORCE FINDS 'NUMEROUS INSTANCES' OF ANTI-CHRISTIAN GOVERNMENT BIAS UNDER BIDEN

The findings, published Thursday by a Justice Department task force, argue the Biden administration exhibited a pattern of behavior that undermined religious liberty. According to a DOJ press release, the administration used regulatory means to strip protections from people of faith.

"President Biden pushed policies to eliminate statutory protections for religious Americans that interfered with his policy goals," the DOJ report stated. "Although he failed to change federal law, under his direction, federal agencies used policy and regulatory means to accomplish the same goals."

DAN BONGINO REVEALS HE FEARS ‘FEDERAL PRISON’ IN CHILLING CLAIM AFTER YEAR AT THE FBI

The report says the Biden administration labeled parental concerns at school boards as "threats" and dismissed federal workers' religious concerns about vaccine mandates as "insincere" or "not religious."

Another claim in the report states, "The Civil Rights Division under President Biden sidelined Christians in favor of preferred constituencies. It published materials suggesting that Christians could not be victims of religious discrimination, only other faith groups."

Blanche called the findings "extraordinarily disappointing," but emphasized that the current administration is moving to dismantle bias in the DOJ.

"President Trump said on day one that this was [going to] change, and I’m happy to report that it has changed," Blanche said.

JOHN FETTERMAN BREAKS WITH PARTY OVER ‘ORGY OF SOCIALISM’ MAY DAY PROTESTS

Former Attorney General Merrick Garland's emphasis on reproductive healthcare was another top focus of the report.

Republican lawmakers frequently confronted Garland over concerns about whether the DOJ's actions disadvantaged Christians. During a House hearing in 2023, Garland, who is Jewish and frequently references his family fleeing religious persecution in Europe in the 20th century, became emotional about the accusation.

"The idea that someone with my family background would discriminate against any religion is so outrageous, so absurd," Garland told lawmakers.

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The investigation was a direct result of President Donald Trump’s executive order, "Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias," which was designed to "immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government, including at the DOJ."

"It is the policy of the United States, and the purpose of this order, to protect the religious freedoms of Americans and end the anti-Christian weaponization of government," the executive order stated. "The Founders established a Nation in which people were free to practice their faith without fear of discrimination or retaliation by their government."

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to a Biden representative for comment.

ӣ��Ƶ' Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.

Unanimous Supreme Court win in my pregnancy center case is good for all Americans

Sat, 02 May 2026 09:00:07 -0400

Each year, First Choice Women’s Resource Centers makes a life-changing difference for thousands of New Jersey women. Wednesday, April 29’s unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision in our case against the state is good news for all of them — and for a lot of other people across America, too.

The decision affirms our right to pursue justice in federal court against state officials who have violated our First Amendment rights by persecuting us for helping women who seek our free support as they navigate unplanned pregnancies.

The state targeted us for our pro-life views, issuing an invasive subpoena and opening an unfounded investigation, based on … nothing. The state has failed to identify a single complaint against our organization.

Not for want of trying. Former Attorney General Matthew Platkin used every resource at his disposal to silence us. He assembled a "Reproductive Rights Task Force" that worked with Planned Parenthood to issue a consumer alert warning New Jersey women about pregnancy centers because they — heaven forbid — do not provide abortions.

SUPREME COURT UNANIMOUSLY SLAPS DOWN BLUE STATE TARGETING PRO-LIFE GROUP

This harassment culminated in Platkin issuing an invasive demand for vast amounts of private information, including constitutionally protected information like the names, phone numbers, addresses and places of employment of First Choice’s donors.

Since those are clear violations of our constitutional rights, we filed a federal court action with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom to block his efforts. When lower federal courts dismissed our claims, we petitioned the Supreme Court to hear our case.

Now the court has secured our right to be heard in federal court to fight for our organization’s right to freely associate with donors without fear of government retaliation for exercising our First Amendment freedoms.

That benefits not only us, but dozens of other pregnancy care centers around the country — Washington, Vermont, Illinois, California — that have been unjustly targeted by hostile government officials. In fact, it benefits all organizations, ensuring they may file federal lawsuits against hostile government officials for violating their First Amendment rights.

Groups as diverse as tech giants, oil and gas companies, gun manufacturers, media groups and immigrant advocacy organizations must be happy to hear that. They’ve all faced invasive demands from state officials.

THE SUPREME COURT DID THE RIGHT THING. I KNOW BECAUSE I WAS PART OF A HORRIFYING GENDER TRANSITION

New Jersey’s actions have threatened more than the privacy and personal freedom of our donors; they’ve also seriously inhibited our ability to do what we do. Providing the kind and amount of information the state is seeking requires a great deal of time, which, of course, is the idea — hampering us on the one hand, while simultaneously moving to intimidate anyone willing to help or support what we’re doing.

That’s a lot of government power marshaled to punish a small nonprofit for nothing more than exercising our religious beliefs and serving our community, and the justices were right to say that state officials should be held accountable in federal court.

The Supreme Court’s ruling agrees that demands for private donor information burden First Amendment rights. That gets us one huge step forward toward getting back to doing what we do best — serve women. Over the last 40 years, we have offered crucial resources to more than 36,000 women across our state. We haven’t charged for those services or forced them on anyone, and we are still in touch with many of these women and their families.

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Pregnancy centers serve vital roles in their communities. In 2024 alone, those centers provided 600,000 free ultrasounds, 200,000 STD tests, 6.3 million packs of diapers and 39,000 car seats — more than $452 million worth of support to women who said they would prefer to continue their pregnancies if they could find this kind of support.

Platkin described people who make that kind of investment in the lives of others as "extremists." Our clients would describe them as people who were there to help when no one else was. And I’d describe them as being the hands and feet of God.

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By coming after our center, New Jersey officials have used taxpayer money and the government’s enormous resources to derail us from helping women facing unplanned pregnancies. But, thankfully, the Supreme Court has now determined that, when those officials target and harass their ideological opponents, they will be held accountable in federal court for violating constitutional rights.

The women of New Jersey — and countless other Americans — will be better for that decision.

Top school district put on notice as watchdog group threatens legal action over gender policy

Fri, 01 May 2026 07:00:38 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: A major Virginia school district outside Washington, D.C., is facing a demand to rescind one of its policies that is alleged to be keeping parents in the dark if their child begins showing signs of transitioning genders at school.

America First Legal (AFL), a Trump-aligned lawfare group, is threatening litigation against the Fairfax City Public Schools (FCPS) system unless it rescinds Regulation 2603 and its accompanying policies, arguing it creates "a dual-track system in which FCPS actively supports and documents a student’s social transition at school while presenting parents with an incomplete — and materially misleading — account."

In particular, AFL is taking issue with some of the district's guidance that tells educators to refrain from "out[ing]" a student to their parents in district-wide information systems that they have access to, while requiring name and pronoun changes that students request to be made in the district's information systems that are faculty-facing only. The policy also includes guidance notifying educators they do not need to obtain parental permission to affirm a student's new gender identity, and permits students to choose the locker or bathroom of their choice without parental permission or even notifying them.

The legal demand, on behalf of a client with students in the district, follows a Supreme Court decision in March that America First Legal says has proven withholding a student's desire to transition genders from their parents is against the law. "There can be no serious dispute that FCPS’s policies mandate the very conduct the Supreme Court has now condemned," AFL's letter to FCPS Superintendent, Dr. Michelle Reid, states.

SCHOOL DISTRICT’S TRANS POLICY BLASTED FOR FOSTERING 'DECEPTION’ UNDER SHADOW OF SCOTUS RULING

AFL is referring to Mirabelli v. Bonta, during which the Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that rejected pleas from parents of students in California schools to cease hiding their children's gender transitions. AFL also argues in its letter to FCPS that Mirabelli v. Bonta "built directly on" Mahmoud v. Taylor, another case that invalidated school policy related to giving parents the right to opt their children out of educational programming. A school district blocked the opt-out policy, but parents demanded it was their right to know what their kids were being taught and, if they wish, excuse them from certain programming that may violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.

"The Court also made clear that the constitutional violation is not confined to the Free Exercise Clause. The policies independently implicate the fundamental Due Process right of parents — religious and nonreligious alike — to direct the upbringing and education of their children, including decisions bearing on a child’s mental health," AFL adds in its letter. "Because gender dysphoria 'has an important bearing on a child’s mental health,' policies that both conceal relevant information from parents and affirmatively facilitate a child’s social transition at school likely infringe these constitutional protections."

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION INVESTIGATES MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL DISTRICT OVER TRANSGENDER BATHROOM POLICY

Meanwhile, the AFL says that FCPS's policies also violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, which guarantees parents the right to view their child's educational records while they are under 18.

The guidance on gender identity from FCPS appears to be aware of potential FERPA violations, with the policy warning educators that if a parent or guardian requests access to see their child's records, they will have access to both the child's chosen and given name.

"If a student transitioning at school is not ready to share with their family about their transgender status, this should be respected," the guidance instructs. "In this scenario, school staff should make a change socially, calling the student by the chosen name, while their official [school database] information remains the same."

FCPS told ӣ��Ƶ Digital it is reviewing the letter from the AFL.

In January, the AFL also filed a federal civil rights complaint over this same matter. In response to that, the district told ӣ��Ƶ Digital in a statement that "FCPS remains committed to fostering a safe, supportive, welcoming, and inclusive school environment for all students and staff."

"FCPS policies and regulations will continue to stay aligned with Virginia and federal law," the district added in a separate statement in response to this article. "We continue to partner with all families to provide a safe, supportive, and inclusive school environment for all students and staff members, including our transgender and gender-expansive community."

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Last year, the Trump administration put FCPS and a handful of other Northern Virginia school districts on a "high risk" status due to their policies on intimate spaces for females and transgender students, threatening their federal funding and putting it in a "reimbursement only" payment status.

"The Department of Education has already placed FCPS on a restricted status related to Title IX noncompliance, with related proceedings pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit," AFL's civil rights complaint points out. "This complaint independently establishes that FCPS’s current practices also risk federal education funding for violations of FERPA. I invite the Department of Education to take official notice of the existing Title IX enforcement posture as relevant context for federal oversight and remedial measures."

Trump DOJ report lays bare Biden administration's alleged anti-Christian bias

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 10:08:45 -0400

The Department of Justice's investigations and prosecutions of Christians during the Biden administration signal that the government discriminated against people based on their faith, according to a sweeping 200-page report released Thursday by the Trump DOJ.

"The Biden Administration generally tolerated religious beliefs that were privately held but zealously pursued actions to limit Christians’ ability to act in accordance with their faith," the report found.

The document, released by a DOJ task force, serves as an internal deep dive into concerns critics have already publicly raised surrounding prosecutions of pro-life protesters, investigations into Catholics, the administration's posture toward religious concerns with COVID-19 vaccines and more. The report contended that the Biden administration showed a pattern of making enforcement choices that de-prioritized religious liberty protections at the expense of Christians.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD APOLOGIZES FOR 'INADVERTENTLY' GIVING SEXUALLY EXPLICIT COLORING BOOK TO CHILDREN

"No American should live in fear that the federal government will punish them for their faith," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who chaired the task force, said in a statement. "As our report lays out, the Biden Administration’s actions devastated the lives of many Christian Americans. That devastation ended with President Trump. The Department of Justice will continue to expose bad actors who targeted Christians and work tirelessly to restore religious liberty for all Americans of faith."

One little known detail revealed in the report found that federal government employees were systemically denied religious accommodation requests or subject to tedious processes when seeking exceptions to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

"The Task Force found that during the COVID-19 period, federal agencies frequently subjected employees seeking religious accommodations to invasive scrutiny of their beliefs," the report stated, saying the practice was at odds with court precedent requiring employers to "presume sincerity" of beliefs.

EXCLUSIVE: CONSERVATIVE GROUPS URGING TRUMP ADMIN TO EXPOSE ANTI-CHRISTIAN ‘PATTERN’ IN BIDEN FBI

Former Attorney General Merrick Garland's emphasis on reproductive healthcare was another top focus of the report.

In the wake of the landmark Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the Garland DOJ sought to prioritize access to abortion and to protect abortion clinics, while making weak attempts to engage with and protect faith-based pregnancy counseling centers that discourage abortion, the report found.

The task force summarized how the Biden DOJ aggressively pursued Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances violations at abortion clinics, especially amid heightened polarization of the abortion debate as the Supreme Court weighed the Dobbs decision.

The department frequently brought federal FACE Act charges against nonviolent pro-life protesters, including several elderly protesters, many of whom were found guilty of blocking doors to abortion clinics and later pardoned by Trump. Those prosecutions far outpaced charges brought against abortion advocates who targeted pregnancy counseling centers or churches, the report noted, despite the law being written to protect both types of facilities.

Internally, Biden DOJ Civil Rights Division attorneys "questioned whether to provide pregnancy resource centers with the same resources as abortion clinics, questioning whether these facilities fall under the FACE Act’s scope," the report stated.

"The idea that someone with my family background would discriminate against any religion is so outrageous, so absurd," Garland told lawmakers.

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The report, drafted in response to Trump's executive order called Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias, laid out corrective measures the DOJ has taken, including engaging with faith-based groups, holding hearings featuring alleged victims of anti-Christian bias, shifting law enforcement priorities and revising legal interpretations of court precedents.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to a Biden representative for comment.

Judge orders Washington school district to loosen limits on off-campus Bible club for public school students

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 10:00:19 -0400

A federal judge has partially granted a preliminary injunction against Everett Public Schools in a lawsuit accusing the Washington school district of discriminating against LifeWise Academy, a national nonprofit that provides off-campus religious instruction to public school students.

In an order issued April 24 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, U.S. District Judge Lauren King said that LifeWise and co-plaintiff Sarah Sweeny, a parent and LifeWise staff member, were likely to succeed on key First Amendment claims challenging the district’s restrictions on the group.

The court ordered Everett Public Schools to let LifeWise participate in the district’s community resource fairs; allow the group to display printed flyers in schools where secular organizations are allowed to do so; permit Emerson Elementary School students to attend LifeWise using semester-long permission slips that identify up to four specifically named individuals who may pick them up; and allow Sweeny’s children to read LifeWise reading materials during times when students may read other non-scholastic materials.

SUPREME COURT TO CONSIDER AN EFFORT TO ESTABLISH THE NATION’S FIRST PUBLICLY FUNDED RELIGIOUS CHARTER SCHOOL

The order follows a complaint filed in December by First Liberty Institute and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP on behalf of LifeWise, alleging school officials barred the organization from participating in its community fair and from displaying informational flyers in school lobbies next to flyers for secular organizations.

The lawsuit also argued the district placed a "burdensome" permission slip policy on the organization that required parents to submit a new written authorization every single week for students to attend the program.

School officials were also accused of forcing students to keep any LifeWise materials, including Bibles, hidden in envelopes in their backpacks, making them inaccessible for the rest of the school day, even during free periods when students are allowed to read secular materials such as comic books.

Attorneys for LifeWise argued in their complaint that these restrictions violate decades of legal precedent. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld religious-instruction release as constitutional in the 1952 ruling Zorach v. Clauson, provided the programs are held off-campus, use no public funds and have parental consent.

WASHINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT FORCES STUDENTS TO HIDE BIBLES IN BACKPACKS, LAWSUIT ALLEGES

First Liberty also said that school officials displayed hostility toward the Bible club. After LifeWise sent a letter to the Everett School Board in November, board member Charles Adkins admitted at a Dec. 9 board meeting he held "animus" toward the religious group.

"I want to make it very, extremely, abundantly clear, that, yes, I do in fact hold animus toward LifeWise Academy," Adkins said. "It is an organization of homophobic bullies who are active and willing participants in the efforts to bring about an authoritarian theocracy."

The court order stopped short of granting all of LifeWise's requests, including expressly ordering access to the district's electronic flyer platform, Peachjar; allowing students to be released to LifeWise Inc. rather than named adults; granting a yearlong permission slip for parents; and adopting the group's broader request to stop enforcing any requirements not imposed on other organizations to whom the school releases custody of students.

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Attorneys representing the group celebrated the ruling.

"Targeting the operation of an out-of-school program just because it’s religious is a direct violation of the First Amendment," Jeremy Dys, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, said in a press release. "We are grateful that the court has put a halt to the open and intentional acts of discrimination toward LifeWise by the Everett School District."

"Anti-religious sentiment by government officials — particularly when coupled with the adoption of facially discriminatory policies — has no place in a free society," Barbara Smith Tyson, a LifeWise attorney and partner at the law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, LLP, also said.

"The court held what the law requires: Everett School District may not subject LifeWise to uniquely harmful treatment simply because it is religious. Elementary school children, like all Americans, enjoy the right to receive religious instruction without fear or favor."

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Everett Public Schools gave the following statement:

"Everett Public Schools is in the process of reviewing the court order with legal counsel and evaluating the next steps. This case is still in active litigation and is not the final order from the court. The district will continue to follow the legal process and the orders from the court. Everett Public Schools remains committed to serving all students."

BISHOP ROBERT BARRON: My year with DOJ's Religious Liberty Commission: Why I said yes

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 05:00:50 -0400

As my time with the Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty comes to a close, I would like to reflect on the experience, but also on the frankly bizarre reaction that some people had to my participation.

Just about a year ago, I received a call from the White House inviting me to serve on a newly formed commission dedicated to fostering religious liberty in our country. I had, and still have, no idea who recommended me or how my name was surfaced. But upon receiving the invitation, I thought, "Well, the president of the United States is inviting a Catholic bishop to be a voice around the table as the crucially important issue of religious freedom is being discussed."

Why would I say no, especially since the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops had made religious liberty a central concern?

And the commission did indeed do exceptionally important work. In the course of the year, we brought to light violations of religious liberty in the arenas of health care, education and the military. We explored the sources of religious freedom in the work of the Founding Fathers, and we drew special attention to the antisemitism that is currently bedeviling our country. One of the most significant contributions we made was to bring into sharper relief the issue of church-state relations.

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Far too much of the jurisprudence of the last roughly 75 years has been dominated by Thomas Jefferson's ambiguous metaphor of a "wall" that purportedly separates civil government and religion.

As many have indicated, there is no mention of such a wall in either the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers or the Constitution itself. What we do indeed find in the First Amendment is the prohibition against any formal establishment of religion through an act of Congress, but this has nothing to do with eliminating religion from public life or even reducing religious expression to private acts of worship.

In point of fact, that same First Amendment insists that nothing should prevent the free exercise of religion in our country. Many of the witnesses we heard from during the year testified to the cynical way that Jefferson's "wall" was used to justify severe restrictions on their free exercise of religion. To be sure, no student in an American classroom should be compelled to pray according to any particular religious tradition, but we heard of students who were forbidden from singing Christian songs at a talent show, or, in the most absurd case, forbidden from wearing COVID masks inscribed with "Jesus loves me."

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A point that I made frequently in the course of our deliberations is that the greatest threat to religious liberty today comes from what amounts to an alternate religion, which I characterize as "the culture of self-invention." This ideology dictates that there are no objective moral values and no stable human nature, and hence the determination of value is entirely a product of individual choice.

The more this philosophical perspective comes to hold sway, the more the leaders of the culture want religion out of education, health care and other institutions, for they rightly recognize that the advocates of traditional religion are their most powerful ideological opponents. In many ways, the testimonies we heard and the discussions we had echoed this fundamental theme.

I must say, furthermore, that my colleagues on the commission, including and especially the chairman, Texas Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, have been marvelous. They showed great interest in my perspective as I brought Catholic teaching to bear on the matter of religious liberty. There was never an attempt to censor me or question the legitimacy of my participation. I was allowed free rein to express my point of view, to interview witnesses as I saw fit, and to engage my fellow commissioners in lively conversation.

No one ever demanded that I demonstrate unquestioned fealty to the Trump administration or any particular political point of view. I'm proud to have contributed to the final statement that we are about to communicate to the president.

I fully realize that, for some, the simple fact that the president whose administration invited me to join the commission was Donald Trump was enough to inspire a negative response, but I thought that objection was silly.

In all honesty, if President Joe Biden had invited me to serve on such a commission, I would have said yes, though I rather vehemently disagree with many of his policies.

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To serve at the beckoning of a president on a commission dedicated to a very specific issue is not thereby to endorse every policy, proposal or action of that president.

Relatedly, other critics opined that no churchman should be so closely associated with a government agency; but I took as my inspiration Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, the legendary president of the University of Notre Dame, who served on, believe it or not, 16 separate presidential commissions under five presidents, both Democratic and Republican. There is simply no way that Hesburgh could possibly have agreed with all the policies of those various chief executives, but he served nonetheless. The point is this: If church leaders absent themselves from advising government officials, then the church's voice does not resonate in the halls of power.

A complaint that I found particularly puzzling was that my service on this commission made me part of the Trump administration, and that Pope John Paul II had strictly forbidden churchmen from serving in government positions. But I was not part of the Trump administration!

Those in the administration of a president are dedicated to the implementation of that president's policies. Thus, for example, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth are indeed charged with making Donald Trump's proposals a reality. But the kind of commission on which I served is, so to speak, on the other side of the ledger. That is to say, we were not endeavoring to implement policy, but rather to shape it.

Our job was to recommend to the president actions he could take, either through legislation or executive order, that would enhance religious liberty. But giving advice and implementing policy are entirely different things.

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In sum, participating in the Religious Liberty Commission was a wonderful experience, and I'm very glad that I accepted the president's invitation.

The criticisms and objections were, in the final analysis, spurious and born, I would maintain, largely out of pique and envy.

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Bible verse leads to trial in Europe. Growing crackdown threatens our US-UK values

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 08:00:27 -0400

A 77-year-old retired pastor stands outside a hospital in Northern Ireland and gives a short message based on a Bible verse that many learned as children: "For God so loved the world…"

For that, Clive Johnston is now on trial.

His alleged offense is not harassment, obstruction or intimidation. It is preaching a sermon — including the words of John 3:16 — within a legally defined "buffer zone" near a hospital where abortions take place. Prosecutors argue that he may have "influenced" those accessing such services, thus breaching the law.

That word — "influence" — is doing extraordinary work.

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Johnston did not speak about abortion. He did not approach anyone. The case rests on the idea that passers-by might have inferred his beliefs about abortion from his Christian message that had nothing to do with abortion, and that this alone could constitute unlawful "influence."

If that standard holds, it not only regulates conduct, it regulates belief, through a kind of guilt-by-association. Put simply: the Bible is on trial.

For American readers, this may sound implausible. The United States has long treated religious expression as a core liberty, protected even — and especially — when it is controversial. But in parts of the United Kingdom and across Europe, a different approach is taking hold.

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In Finland, Päivi Räsänen, a former interior minister, has recently been convicted of "hate speech" over a pamphlet she wrote in 2004 outlining her church’s teaching on marriage and sexuality. In England, individuals have been convicted for silently praying on certain streets.

These are not isolated incidents. They reflect a broader shift: a growing willingness to treat public expressions of Christian belief not as contributions to democratic debate, but as potential harms to be managed.

If quoting the Bible can be criminalised in case it offends, then what is unfolding is not simply a domestic legal dispute. It is a test of the values that underpin one of the world’s closest alliances.

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The United States and the United Kingdom have long described their bond as a "special relationship," rooted in shared history, shared language and, crucially, shared commitments to fundamental freedoms — including free speech and religious liberty. That assumption is now under strain.

Speaking ahead of his trial, the U.S. State Department warned this week that cases like that of Clive Johnston represent an "egregious violation" of fundamental rights and "a concerning departure from the shared values that ought to underpin U.S.-U.K. relations."

Alliances depend on more than mutual interests. They depend on a baseline agreement about the rights of citizens — what can be said, what can be believed, and whether the state exists to protect those freedoms. When that baseline shifts, so too does the relationship.

The irony is that this moment of legal restriction comes just as faith is resurging across the West. In both the United States and Europe, members of Generation Z are rediscovering Christianity in unexpected numbers. Churches report growing youth attendance. Bible sales are rising. A generation once assumed to be post-religious is beginning to take belief seriously again.

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But while the resurgence is shared, the response is not.

The United States has, for now, resisted Europe’s censorial trajectory. Its constitutional tradition reflects a confidence that citizens can encounter competing ideas — even uncomfortable ones — without the state policing their expression. But that confidence is not guaranteed. The value of freedom of expression needs perpetually reinforced to a population which may feel too easily drawn to the false compassion of "safe spaces" and "hate speech bans".

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Clive Johnston’s case across the Atlantic may seem small: a single man, a single sermon, a single Bible verse. But it raises a question with transatlantic consequences. If preaching the Bible in "the wrong place" can be treated as a form of unlawful influence by one of America’s closest allies, what does that say about the durability of the freedoms they claim to share?

The special relationship has long been described in near-sacred terms. But it rests, ultimately, on shared values. It may not be quite accurate to say it is living on a prayer. In this case, it may be living on something more fragile: whether a man is free to speak a Bible verse in public.

Trump DOJ fires prosecutors tied to FACE Act cases after report alleges bias and misconduct

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:25:53 -0400

The Trump administration has fired multiple prosecutors who handled cases that resulted in prison sentences for pro-life activists under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, as the Justice Department moves to overhaul enforcement of the law.

The Justice Department confirmed to ӣ��Ƶ Digital that four prosecutors tied to those cases were dismissed, following a CBS News report on the firings.

The department’s rapid response account on X said the Justice Department "has terminated the employment of personnel responsible for weaponizing the FACE Act who still remained at the department."

The personnel moves come after the Justice Department released a report Tuesday alleging the Biden administration "weaponized" federal law by selectively prosecuting pro-life activists under the FACE Act, which was designed to protect access to abortion clinics and pregnancy resource centers.

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According to the report, based on a review of more than 700,000 internal records, prosecutors coordinated with abortion-rights groups to identify activists, sought harsher sentences for pro-life defendants and, in some cases, withheld evidence from defense attorneys.

"This department will not tolerate a two-tiered system of justice," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. "No Department should conduct selective prosecution based on beliefs. The weaponization that happened under the Biden Administration will not happen again, as we restore integrity to our prosecutorial system."

The report also alleged prosecutors attempted to screen out jurors based on religious beliefs and, in some cases, pursued aggressive arrest tactics rather than allowing defendants to voluntarily surrender.

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For instance, the report cited a case involving pro-life activist Mark Houck in which prosecutors declined a request for him to self-surrender and instead authorized an FBI arrest at his home.

Justice Department officials said sentencing recommendations for pro-life defendants averaged 26.8 months in prison, compared to 12.3 months for individuals accused of attacks on pro-life organizations.

The report argued FACE Act enforcement under the Biden administration was uneven, with authorities prioritizing cases involving abortion clinics while failing to adequately pursue attacks on pregnancy resource centers and churches.

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Assistant Attorney General Daniel Burrows said the findings raised serious concerns about department attorneys.

"The behavior unearthed in this report is shameful," Burrows said, adding that some prosecutors "withheld evidence" and worked to exclude religious jurors.

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The Trump administration has already taken steps to reverse course, including issuing pardons for pro-life activists convicted under the prior administration, dismissing several civil cases and limiting future FACE Act prosecutions to "extraordinary circumstances."

The FACE Act, passed in 1994, prohibits the use of force, threats or physical obstruction to interfere with access to reproductive health services.

Catholic nuns caring for dying patients fight New York trans rule, face jail time

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 09:00:28 -0400

Catholic nuns who have spent more than a century caring for the dying poor are suing New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, saying a new state law could force them to choose between their faith and their mission or face fines, loss of licensing and even jail time.

"We are consecrated religious Sisters and have one mission," Mother Marie Edward, O.P., told ӣ��Ƶ Digital in a statement. "It is to provide comfort and skilled care to persons dying of cancer who cannot afford nursing care. We do not take insurance or government funds or money from our patients or families. The care is totally free."

"We are supported by the goodness of our benefactors," she continued. "We do this without discriminating on the basis of race, religion, or sex. We do it because Jesus taught us that, when the least among us are sick, we should care for them, as if they were Christ himself."

Signed into law on Nov. 30, 2023, the "Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, and people living with HIV long-term care facility residents' bill of rights" bans long-term care facilities and staff "from discriminating against any resident on the basis of a resident’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or HIV status," according to a press release from Hochul's office.

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The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, who run Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne, New York, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the law they say would require them to assign rooms by gender identity, not biological sex; allow access to opposite-sex bathrooms; allow expression, relationships and identity practices; use preferred pronouns; require staff training in gender ideology; and post a public notice stating compliance with the law.

Edward told ӣ��Ƶ Digital that "New York’s gender ideology mandates not only violate our Catholic values, they threaten our existence with fines, injunctions, license revocation, and even jail time. This is why we were forced to go to court to seek protection of our religious exercise and freedom of speech so that we can continue our ministry to the poor."

A press release from the Catholic Benefits Association said the New York State Department of Health sent the first in a series of "Dear Administrator" letters to the Hawthorne Dominicans' Rosary Hill Home, a 42-bed facility, on March 18, 2024.

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The letters listed New York’s demands and included a training curriculum "requiring the sisters to align patient care and the training of their sisters and employees with the State’s gender ideology."

If the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne do not comply, they face fines up to $2,000 per violation — rising to $5,000 — court-ordered forced compliance, loss of licensing and up to one year in prison and fines up to $10,000.

In their lawsuit, the sisters highlighted that during the four-year reporting period from Feb. 1, 2022, through Jan. 31, 2026, the New York State Department of Health had received "zero complaints" from Rosary Hill Home residents, compared with "more than 55,000 complaints against other nursing homes," and an average of 23 citations per facility during the same period.

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In the press release, Sister Stella Mary, O.P., administrator of Rosary Hill Home, said, "Our foundress, Mother Alphonsa Hawthorne, charged us to serve those who are ‘to pass from one life to another’ and to ‘make them as comfortable and happy as if their own people had kept them and put them into the very best bedroom.’ We intend to continue honoring this sacred obligation but need relief from the Court to do so."

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to Hochul's office for comment and was referred to a spokesperson at the New York State Department of Health who said, "While the Department does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation, the NYS Department of Health is committed to following state law, which provides nursing home residents certain rights protecting against discrimination including, but not limited to, gender identity or expression."

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Nashville public school excuses Muslim students for daily prayer time during Ramadan

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 07:00:49 -0400

A Nashville public school allows Muslim students to leave class to pray in a reserved space on campus during the school day, offering the accommodation daily during Ramadan and once a month during the rest of the year, according to local reports.

According to a report published Tuesday in the Nashville Banner, John Overton High School in South Nashville also supports Muslim students during Ramadan by offering food-free classrooms during lunch for students who are fasting.

In the afternoon, students who signed up received electronic hall passes allowing them to leave class for 15 minutes to pray in a reserved space on campus. More than 80 students signed up, according to the Banner.

Ten teachers also volunteered to make their classrooms a food-free space for Muslim students during the lunch hour during the month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast daily from dawn to dusk.

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Al-Nadir Muhammad, a member of the school's support staff, oversees the student prayer period and is responsible for assuring students are following the rules. He also offers support to Muslim students on campus, the Banner reported.

The report noted how students met in a foyer, laid paper towels down for makeshift prayer mats and put a divider between girls and boys before one student led a prayer and recited verses from the Quran.

The outlet previously reported that outside of the month of Ramadan, Muslim students are permitted to leave class to pray on campus once a month.

Muslim teacher Revas Barwari told the Banner the school’s treatment of Muslim students was a stark contrast to her own experience growing up in Nashville public schools, where she felt she had to hide that she was fasting.

"What school do you know that actually changes their whole bell schedule to work around students being able to go pray?" she asked the outlet. "I don’t think the kids really even understand how important that is or see that like, ‘Wow, my school’s doing this for me.’"

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The report noted that the school has worked to refine the prayer system after students and staff suggested to the administration several years ago that they provide a daily time and space for prayer.

The American Muslim Advisory Council also reportedly sent a letter to Metro Nashville Public Schools asking educators to support Muslim students during Ramadan by giving students a reserved space for lunch and to skip heavy physical activities during the fasting period.

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"It is a Muslim’s right to fast and receive reasonable accommodations at school or work," the letter stated, according to the report.

The U.S. Department of Education says public schools must permit constitutionally protected student prayer and religious expression, including private prayer during the school day, but may not sponsor, organize, coerce or favor religious activity.

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In February, the agency released guidance on prayer in public schools, saying schools should allow members of the school community to "act and speak according to their faith" as long as others’ rights are respected, the school itself is not engaging in religion, and the school does not favor one faith over another.

John Overton High School Principal Kelby Garner did not immediately return ӣ��Ƶ Digital's request for comment.

Washington Post columnist argues Muslims shouldn't have to assimilate in America

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:00:02 -0400

Washington Post columnist Shadi Hamid is making the case that Muslims don't need to assimilate in America.

"The assimilation defense — look how well we’ve integrated — is satisfying to make. But it concedes a premise I no longer accept: that a minority community’s right to be in the United States depends on its willingness to converge with the cultural mainstream. It shouldn’t depend on that. It shouldn’t depend on anything," Hamid wrote Wednesday.

Hamid, who is Muslim, titled his piece "I’m tired of proving I belong in America," responding to rhetoric from GOP lawmakers like Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., who last month wrote on X, "Muslims don’t belong in American society," and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who recently said, "I’m ready to get rid of the Muslims."

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"Over the past decade, surveys have shown that American Muslims are patriotic, civically engaged and more likely than the U.S. general public to say that political violence is never justified. You’d think that would be enough. Except it shouldn’t have to be. And this is where it gets uncomfortable — for me, at least," Hamid told readers, citing various data.

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"Muslims are different in certain ways. How could they not be?" he later wrote. "Islam shapes how its adherents think about family, sexuality and what it means to live a good life. Simply put, Islam is also a more public religion than Christianity. Muslim prayer is visually striking and often communal. If a Muslim doesn’t drink alcohol or fasts during Ramadan, that will be more noticeable to others."

"Moreover, practicing Muslims — despite being repeatedly asked to — can’t disavow 'sharia' even if they wanted to. Sharia, roughly translated as Islamic law, includes guidelines on how to pray, fast and otherwise observe what it means to submit to God in daily practice," Hamid continued.

The Post columnist insisted Muslims have "increasingly integrated into American civic life" while maintaining their religious commitments versus other minority groups, which he says begs the question "Why do Muslims need to be like everyone else?" He went on to cite data showing rates of Catholics among the Latino community have drastically fallen and "American acceptance" led to the decline of the Jewish population in the U.S. and the rise of their intermarriage rates.

"What strikes me about these stories is how much they resemble each other," Hamid wrote. "The deal is always the same: You can stay, but you have to become less yourself. Less distinctively Muslim, less traditionally Jewish, less recognizably Latino. The specifics of your faith and culture — the things that make your community a community rather than a collection of individuals — are treated as obstacles on the path to real Americanness. The left and the right enforce this expectation. The right says: Assimilate or get out. The left, more gently: Assimilate and we’ll celebrate you. But the endpoint is the same."

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Hamid went on to suggest that Muslim Americans are "more resistant to the secular pull of American culture" and their defense "should not rest on how 'mainstream'" they become.

"A Muslim who prays five times a day and believes homosexuality is sinful is not less American than a Muslim who drinks alcohol and hasn’t been to a mosque in years. An evangelical Christian who believes marriage is between a man and a woman and home-schools his children is not less American than a mainline Protestant who marches in Pride parades. These are deep disagreements about how to live, and a country that is serious about pluralism shouldn’t treat them as problems to be solved," he wrote.

He added, "America was not founded on the assumption that its citizens would eventually come to agree on foundational questions. It was founded on the more radical proposition that they wouldn’t — that people who disagree about God, religion and the good life could share a country anyway. Not because they would converge over time, but because convergence was beside the point. The question isn’t whether Muslims, Jews or Latinos will change. They will. The question is whether America will let them do it on their own terms."

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Israel looking for 'solutions' to open Christian sites after barring church leader on Palm Sunday due to war

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 12:47:58 -0400

Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre and other major holy sites were closed on Palm Sunday under Israeli wartime restrictions, disrupting one of Christianity’s holiest observances as the Iran war entered its fifth week.

The Catholic Church rebuked the police decision as "a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure."

Israeli police lamented the war restrictions limiting worship and acknowledged the need to "balance freedom" with "public safety."

"Under Home Front Command directives, life-saving restrictions apply to all holy sites in the Old City — for Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike," Israeli police posted to X, responding to an outcry on religious freedom in a video statement. "The Old City has been targeted by murderous missiles multiple times this month, alongside constant fire on residential areas."

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"These threats do not discriminate between religions, and neither does our duty to protect you," the statement continued. "We are in active dialogue with religious leaders, including an upcoming meeting with the Patriarch, to examine solutions that balance freedom of worship with public safety."

The Latin Patriarchate said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Father Francesco Ielpo were stopped by Israeli police while trying to reach the church privately to celebrate Mass, after the traditional Palm Sunday procession had already been canceled.

Israel President Isaac Herzog called the restricted worshipers to "express my great sorrow over this morning's unfortunate incident."

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"I clarified that the incident stemmed from security concerns due to the continuous threat of missile attacks from the Iranian terror regime against the civilian population in Israel, following previous incidents in which Iranian missiles fell in the area of the Old City of Jerusalem in recent days," he wrote Sunday on X. "I reaffirmed the State of Israel's unwavering commitment to freedom of religion for all faiths and to upholding the status quo at the holy sites of Jerusalem."

The Italian government rebuked what it called an "offense" on "religious freedom" in the Holy Land.

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"The Italian government expresses closeness to Cardinal Pizzaballa, Father Ielpo and the religious who have been prevented today by the Israeli authorities from celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass in the Holy Sepulchre," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote in a statement. "The Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is a sacred place of Christianity, and as such to be preserved and protected for the celebration of sacred rites. Preventing the entry of the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Keeper of the Holy Land, moreover in a central solemnity for the faith such as Palm Sunday, constitutes an offense not only for believers, but for every community that recognizes religious freedom."

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The Latin Patriarchate said the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been hosting Masses that are not open to the public since the Iran war began Feb. 28, and it was unclear why Sunday’s Mass and access by the two priests was any different.

"It’s a very, very sacred day for Christians and in our opinion there was no justification for such a decision or such an action," Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem spokesperson Farid Jubran said.

The church had requested permission from the police, he added, for a few religious leaders to enter the church for a private Mass on Sunday — not one that was open to the public.

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Pope Leo XIV, at the end of Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, prayed for all Christians in the Middle East who he said were living through an "atrocious" conflict. He said, "in many cases, they cannot live fully the rites of these holy days," though he did not elaborate.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday evening that there was no "malicious intent" and that the cardinal was prevented from accessing the church because of safety concerns, but that Israel would try to partially open the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

"Given the holiness of the week leading up to Easter for the world’s Christians, Israel’s security arms are putting together a plan to enable church leaders to worship at the holy site in the coming days," Netanyahu wrote on X.

The Western Wall, a holy site for Jews, is also mostly closed because of safety issues, but authorities are letting up to 50 people at a time pray in an enclosed area adjacent to the plaza.

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Smaller churches, synagogues and mosques are open in Jerusalem’s Old City if they are located within a certain distance of a bomb shelter deemed acceptable by Israel’s military and, if gatherings are kept under 50 people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Louisville to pay $800K after Christian photographer beats law forcing her to shoot same-sex weddings

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 16:53:01 -0400

The city of Louisville, Kentucky, has agreed to pay $800,000 in attorney fees as part of a settlement with a Christian photographer after years of litigation over a nondiscrimination provision in a local law she was concerned would make her violate her faith.

"I am thrilled to see this case come to a close and celebrate that free speech is for everyone and the government cannot force you to create anything you don't believe in," Chelsey Nelson, an Alliance Defending Freedom client and Louisville-based photographer, said in a statement to ӣ��Ƶ Digital.

"Artists like me should have the right to decide what messages we express," Nelson added. "You shouldn't lose your freedom of speech when you choose to make a living. I am grateful that I can continue photographing and creating consistent with my religious beliefs and ensure that all artists in Louisville can do the same."

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The settlement, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Louisville Division, follows a Sept. 30, 2025, ruling in which the court sided with Nelson over a prohibition from the city of Louisville on discrimination.

In the September ruling, the court cited 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, which said that a Colorado website designer’s First Amendment rights permit her to refuse to make custom wedding websites for couples of the same sex.

"That 2023 decision confirmed this Court’s 2022 interpretation of the First Amendment to bar the City of Louisville from enforcing an ordinance prohibiting wedding photographer Chelsey Nelson from stating her traditional (now dissenting) views on traditional marriage or declining to participate in those ceremonies," the September ruling said.

CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS WILL NOW ALLOW BIBLE COLLEGE STUDENTS INTO ITS TEACHING PROGRAM, AFTER LAWSUIT

THE US GOVERNMENT TARGETED ME FOR MY POLITICAL SPEECH. IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU, TOO

"These disputes, no less than those from earlier but equally fraught moments in our nation’s history, posed profound questions about the meaning of speech, the government’s authority to demand as well as forbid expression, and the tension in a system of ordered liberty between the common good and individual freedom."

Tuesday's settlement was announced by Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Nelson and filed the lawsuit, Chelsey Nelson Photography v. Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government in 2019.

"Louisville’s law threatened to compel Nelson to create photographs and blogs celebrating a message about marriage she does not believe and prohibited her from expressing her views on marriage on her studio’s website," according to the legal group.

"The government cannot force Americans to say things they don’t believe," Bryan Neihart, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement.

"For almost six years, Louisville officials tried to do just that by threatening to force Chelsey to promote views about marriage that violated her religious beliefs," Neihart added. "Louisville’s threats contradicted bedrock First Amendment principles which leave decisions about what to say with the people, not the government. This settlement should teach Louisville that violating the U.S. Constitution can be expensive."

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ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to the office of Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg for comment.

Chicago Public Schools will now allow Bible college students into its teaching program, after lawsuit

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 15:36:54 -0400

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will no longer bar students from a Bible college from participating in its student-teaching program after reaching a settlement Thursday in the college's religious discrimination case.

Moody Bible Institute, a private Christian college in Chicago, sued the Chicago Board of Education in November, alleging CPS had unlawfully blocked its students from participating in the district’s student-teaching program because of the school’s religious hiring practices.

The lawsuit claims CPS excluded Moody students from its student teacher internship program after the college refused to abandon its policy of hiring employees who affirm the school’s statement of faith and agree to live according to its Christian beliefs, including on gender and sexuality.

"As a condition of participation, Chicago Public Schools insists that Moody sign agreements with employment nondiscrimination provisions that forbid Moody from employing only those who share and live out its faith," the complaint stated. "Such a requirement is unlawful."

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Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) said Thursday that the settlement resolves the dispute.

According to the Christian legal group, CPS agreed to modify its Student Teacher Internship Agreement to recognize Moody’s right to maintain its faith-based hiring practices, allowing the college to sign the agreement and participate in the student-teaching program. ADF also said CPS now lists Moody as an approved university partner on its website.

"Chicago desperately needs more teachers to fill hundreds of vacancies, and Moody’s students will be well-equipped and qualified to help meet that need," ADF Senior Counsel Jeremiah Galus said in a press release.

"Moody holds its faculty and students to high standards of excellence, and we’re pleased to reach this favorable outcome that will allow it to participate in Chicago Public Schools’ student-teaching program," he continued. "We’re hopeful other public officials will take note that they can’t inject themselves illegally and unconstitutionally into a religious non-profit’s hiring practices."

TRANS KINDERGARTEN TEACHER IDENTIFYING AS ‘WOLF’ FIRED AFTER PARENTS RAISE COMPLAINTS

According to the complaint, CPS had told the religious college it would need to sign two nondiscrimination agreements to participate in the teaching program. The agreements required Moody to stop hiring only employees who share its Christian beliefs and agree to its code of conduct. They specifically prohibited discrimination based on religion, gender identity or expression, and sexual orientation.

The complaint said that CPS denied Moody's request to modify the language in the agreement to recognize its rights to hire people of the same faith, and selectively enforced its policy, alleging other religious colleges with similar hiring practices were approved for the program.

"We are deeply grateful that a resolution has been reached affirming our constitutional right to hire individuals who are aligned with our core mission and biblical values," Moody Provost Dr. Tim Sisk said in the press release. "Moody’s Elementary Education students are eager and well-prepared to participate in the CPS student teaching program, which is an essential and formative part of their journey toward becoming effective educators."

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ADF attorneys filed a stipulated dismissal in the case Thursday.

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"Chicago Public Schools (CPS) values its partnerships, including those who provide additional school staff support through student teachers training to eventually lead their own classrooms," Chicago Public Schools said in a statement to ӣ��Ƶ Digital. "The District remains committed to ensuring students have a safe and welcoming environment to focus on their education. To resolve this matter in a mutually-acceptable way, the District and the Moody Bible Institute collaborated to modify the student teaching agreement, ensuring it aligns with the constitutional rights of faith-based organizations."

Trump admin pulls $120K in grants for research on LGBTQ cartoonists, ‘multiethnic’ studies, report says

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 12:55:26 -0400

President Donald Trump’s administration has pulled $120,000 in National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grants tied to LGBTQ-themed comics and "multiethnic" research, according to a new report.

The NEH canceled a $60,000 grant awarded to University of Florida English professor Margaret Alice Galvan for a book, "Comics in Movement," which "examines how LGBTQ+ cartoonists innovated comics through grassroots formats in the 1980s-90s," The College Fix reported.

The description for the grant states that, "While these cartoonists documented LGBTQ+ life and activism in a moment when the community was facing government neglect of the HIV/AIDS crisis and disregard for their civil liberties, their comics have been largely forgotten."

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The NEH also reportedly canceled a $60,000 grant awarded to Maite Urcaregui, an assistant professor of English and comparative literature at San José State University, for a book titled, "Seeing Citizenship: Picturing Political Belonging in Multiethnic Graphic Literature."

According to the grant description, the book was to examine "an emerging and significant nexus of literary and visual studies to examine the relationship between and among race, citizenship, and political belonging."

Urcaregui said she planned to "analyze 20th- and 21st-century graphic literature by Asian American, African American, Arab American, and Latinx authors alongside contemporaneous visual archives and critical legal histories to underscore how these texts reveal and critique citizenship’s inconsistencies, inequalities, and exclusions."

While the grants still appear on the NEH website, the agency told The College Fix, "Both grants were awarded at the end of 2024, under the Biden administration, and terminated in April 2025."

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO PULL BACK RACE-BASED CRITERIA IN FEDERAL GRANTS

The Washington Post reported on April 7, 2025, that the NEH canceled over 1,200 grants following staffing and funding reductions tied to federal cost-cutting efforts.

In an announcement posted on April 24, the NEH said it had taken "programmatic steps to ensure that all future awards will, among other things, be merit-based, awarded to projects that do not promote extreme ideologies based upon race or gender, and that help to instill an understanding of the founding principles and ideals that make America an exceptional country."

In July, Judge Colleen McMahon of the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction pausing the cancellation of certain NEH grants, citing First Amendment concerns.

TREASURY AND GSA LAUNCH SAVE PROGRAM TO REWARD EMPLOYEES UP TO $10K FOR SAVING TAXPAYER DOLLARS

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NEH, Galvan and Urcaregui did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ӣ��Ƶ Digital.

Supreme Court ruling on secretive California gender policy could reshape parent rights fights nationwide

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 17:59:53 -0500

Parental rights advocates celebrated Monday after the Supreme Court temporarily stopped California from blocking school policies requiring parents to be told when their child identifies as transgender.

Corey DeAngelis, a research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, told ӣ��Ƶ Digital the high court’s order, in which the three liberal justices dissented, was a "huge win." The decision marks the latest in a string of victories for conservatives seeking to tighten policies surrounding transgender people, though DeAngelis noted it only applies to California at this stage.

"Parents in California should be very excited that the law that they have on the books to keep secrets from parents will no longer be in effect," DeAngelis said, adding, "This precedent is surely a sign of good things to come. If there's a lawsuit that arises in another state, you can be pretty sure that the Supreme Court is going to rule on the side of families."

The case, Mirabelli v. Bonta, arose from a lawsuit brought by California parents and teachers who argued that the state's policy violated their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and religious freedom rights under the First Amendment. The parents said the policy prevented school administrators from telling them about their child’s potential efforts to engage in gender transitioning unless the child consented to it. The policy also required school staff to use a student’s preferred name and pronouns regardless of the parents’ wishes.

SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE HOT SEAT AMID FRESH ALLEGATIONS OF HIDING STUDENTS' GENDER TRANSITION

After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit sided with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, an elected Democrat, the parents and teachers appealed to the Supreme Court, and on an expedited and temporary basis, the high court vacated that order while the case proceeds through the lower courts.

"The State argues that its policies advance a compelling interest in student safety and privacy," the high court wrote in the unsigned order. "But those policies cut out the primary protectors of children’s best interests: their parents."

Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee, wrote in a dissent that the temporary order was a sign that the Supreme Court’s emergency docket, sometimes known as a shadow docket, continued to "malfunction."

Attorneys for California argued that balancing the interests of parents and the "needs of transgender students" presented complex questions.

"In this case, the district court entered a sweeping permanent injunction that would require instant, dramatic changes from the status quo," California attorneys wrote. "Currently, under California’s laws and constitutional provisions on privacy and antidiscrimination, schools may balance parental interests with students’ particular needs and circumstances, such as the risk of harm upon disclosure of the student’s gender identity without student consent."

DeAngelis said the Supreme Court’s ruling also bolstered the case for school choice, which allows the government to funnel public education funds to schools parents want to send their children to that are not necessarily the designated public school in their neighborhood.

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL DISTRICT LETS STUDENTS CHANGE NAMES AND GENDER IDENTITY IN SECRET FROM PARENTS

"It would be great if more areas, like California, that are controlled by Democrats had policies like school choice. … You should be able to take your child's education dollars somewhere else, to a private school that's more aligned with your values, maybe a charter school," DeAngelis said.

He added that Monday's decision was a "wake-up call for school choice policy as well, because parents may be upset about a lot of things in the public schools. Transparency is just the very bare minimum that the public schools in too many places aren't getting right."

Carrie Severino, president of the conservative JCN Network, said the 9th Circuit appeared to disregard the Supreme Court’s key ruling last year in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which allowed parents to opt their children out of lessons that involved gender ideology or other sensitive topics based on religious beliefs.

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"The liberal Ninth Circuit disregarded the Court’s ruling in Mahmoud," Severino wrote. "Today, the justices reaffirmed the principles of its landmark ruling and said that California’s law substantially interferes with the ‘right of parents to guide the religious development of their children.’"

New York Times columnist David French also agreed with the high court’s decision.

"The idea that a school could withhold such key information about a child from the child's parents (in the absence of evidence of abuse) was ludicrously unconstitutional from the beginning," French wrote on X.

Pastor speaks out on harrowing church invasion that sent congregants fleeing in terror

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 18:00:39 -0500

The lead pastor of a Minnesota church is recounting the chilling moment anti-ICE activists stormed a Sunday service, describing the harrowing invasion as an act of "malevolent darkness" meant to terrorize families.

In January, a group of protesters interrupted a worship service at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, over claims the church was affiliated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Cities Church Lead Pastor Jonathan Parnell described the protest as an "ambush" and said agitators were screaming in children’s faces.

"In that instant, I interpreted what was going on: this was about provocation, intimidation, and spectacle. They were here to incite violence," Parnell wrote in a World op-ed published Tuesday.

PAM BONDI DETAILS NEW ARRESTS IN MINNESOTA CHURCH STORMING WHILE TAKING AIM AT 'FAILED JOURNALIST' DON LEMON

He said many worshipers fled "fearing it was an active shooter situation" and noted children were holding their hands up in fear.

"They had stormed into the house of God, a place of peace and refuge, and they defiled it with rage," Parnell wrote.

DON LEMON QUOTES THE BIBLE IN RESPONSE TO ARREST FOR MINNESOTA CHURCH STORMING

"Hell had barged into our local church that morning, boasting to have shut us down, but hell doesn’t have the final say. Nobody does, except God alone," he later added.

He explained that a woman accused the church of "harboring" a federal agent linked to ICE. The incident occurred as the Department of Homeland Security faced heightened scrutiny after the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good during a confrontation with agents.

Parnell said cameras were shoved in his face, and he lost sight of his wife, children and congregation. He noted that the protesters appeared frustrated he would not engage with them and continued to harass the members.

FAR-LEFT AGITATOR WHO ORGANIZED MN CHURCH STORMING RAKED IN OVER $1 MILLION FROM ANTI-POVERTY NONPROFIT

"They harassed individuals for their ethnicity and ‘uttered all kinds of evil’ against us falsely," he said.

The Department of Justice has arrested and charged several individuals in the storming, noting they played a part in the "coordinated attack" on the church.

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Former CNN host Don Lemon has pleaded "not guilty" to federal charges related to his presence at the church. Lemon has denied wrongdoing and argued he was there as a journalist protected by the First Amendment.

Parnell said he believes those involved will "answer for what they have done in a court of earthly justice," adding that, through his faith, he believes their sins can be wiped away.

DOJ signals crackdown on synagogue protesters using abortion clinic statute

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 18:09:41 -0500

The Justice Department is signaling a broader use of federal civil rights law against protesters accused of disrupting religious worship, with officials pointing to synagogue cases as a model for future enforcement.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said the department has applied the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a law historically associated with abortion clinic protests, to cases involving disruptions at Jewish houses of worship.

"It was our pioneering application of the FACE Act to defend Jewish synagogues that paved the way for its use to defend churches," Dhillon said during remarks at an antisemitism and extremism conference at George Washington University Tuesday. She described the enforcement approach as a way to draw clear legal lines between protected speech and unlawful conduct.

The FACE Act makes it a federal offense to use force, threats of force or physical obstruction to intentionally interfere with individuals because they are exercising their right to religious worship or to an abortion. Dhillon said the statute allows federal authorities to intervene when protests cross into obstruction, intimidation or trespass at places of worship.

FEDERAL AGENTS ARREST 2 MORE IN CONNECTION TO MINNESOTA CHURCH STORMING

Dhillon cited a civil lawsuit filed by the Justice Department against protesters accused of disrupting services at a synagogue in West Orange, New Jersey, calling the case a first-of-its-kind application of the law in that context. She said the department is also reviewing similar incidents elsewhere and warned that additional enforcement actions could follow.

According to Dhillon, the Civil Rights Division has shifted toward more aggressive enforcement in response to a rise in antisemitic incidents since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, including harassment, vandalism and disruptions of religious services.

"Antisemitism is an American problem, not a Jewish problem," Dhillon said. "It strikes at the heart of who we are as a nation."

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT COULD ‘GO HARD’ AFTER ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS WHO DISRUPTED MINNESOTA CHURCH, EXPERT SAYS

She argued that allowing unlawful conduct targeting one religious group risks eroding civil rights protections more broadly, adding that the department’s approach is meant to protect all faith communities.

Beyond the synagogue protest cases, Dhillon pointed to a series of recent Justice Department actions addressing antisemitism, including major settlement agreements with Columbia University and Northwestern University to resolve federal investigations into alleged discriminatory environments and civil litigation against an Oakland, California, coffeehouse accused of refusing service to visibly Jewish customers.

Dhillon also cited federal hate crime prosecutions tied to violent antisemitic attacks, saying the department is moving quickly in cases where evidence supports criminal charges.

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While emphasizing that lawful protests remain protected under the First Amendment, Dhillon said physically blocking access to religious services, trespassing on synagogue property or defying lawful police orders fall outside constitutional protections.

"We are not just reacting," she said. "We are proactively defending the freedoms that make this nation exceptional."

Don Lemon quotes the Bible in response to arrest for Minnesota church storming

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 17:54:51 -0500

Former CNN host Don Lemon cast himself as a persecuted journalist in a Substack post Saturday, quoting the Bible while responding to his arrest last month on federal charges stemming from an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church.

Lemon, who was released without bail Friday, says he was acting as a journalist, while prosecutors allege he coordinated with activists who disrupted services at Cities Church.

"There is a passage in scripture that says, ‘The truth shall set you free,’" Lemon wrote, quoting John 8:32. "But it does not say it will protect you from cages. It does not say it will spare you the consequences of seeing too clearly. It does not say it will make the powerful comfortable."

Lemon said he learned that lesson "not from theology, but from experience," writing that "the government decided that my work as a journalist was not protected speech, but punishable."

WASHINGTON POST CALLS MN CHURCH PROTEST AN 'ASSAULT ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY,' DON LEMON AN 'INTERNET PROVOCATEUR'

Throughout the post, Lemon likened his arrest to historic efforts to silence journalists and civil rights figures, writing that press freedom only exists so long as it does not challenge those in power.

Lemon wrote that America "loves the idea of a free press," but only so long as journalism does not "disturb comfort" or "expose what power would rather conceal," saying the First Amendment exists to protect accountability, not convenience.

Prosecutors charged Lemon with conspiracy to deprive rights and a FACE Act violation stemming from his involvement in an anti-ICE protest that disrupted church services in Minnesota.

DON LEMON TAPS HUNTER BIDEN'S ATTORNEY TO FIGHT TRUMP DOJ CHARGES

Lemon drew attention earlier this month after livestreaming activists who entered St. Paul’s Cities Church during Sunday services, and has said he was present in a journalistic capacity, while the indictment alleges he coordinated with protest organizers prior to their arrival.

According to a federal affidavit dated Jan. 20, parishioners told investigators that agitators blocked stairwells and aisles inside the church, preventing parents from reaching children in a downstairs childcare area and making it difficult for worshipers to leave the sanctuary.

One parishioner reported fearing the agitators may have been armed after hearing shouting that sounded like the word "shoot."

DAVID MARCUS: DON LEMON'S 'OTHER' UNFORGIVABLE CRIME WAS AGAINST HIS OLD PROFESSION

Other churchgoers described agitators yelling in the faces of parishioners, including women and young children, causing some children to cry.

One woman fell and was injured as worshipers fled through a side exit, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit alleges the group entered the church in a coordinated manner, disrupted the service and intimidated parishioners, forcing it to be cut short.

During the incident, video reviewed by investigators shows a church pastor asking one individual to leave the building, saying he needed to "take care of my church and my family."

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The pastor appeared visibly distressed as activists continued to confront him, according to the affidavit.

Despite those allegations, Lemon compared his arrest to the treatment of civil rights leaders and journalists he said were punished for challenging power, citing Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and James Baldwin.

Marjorie Taylor Greene defends arrest of Don Lemon on civil rights charges: 'That's activism'

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 04:01:27 -0500

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene defended the arrest of former CNN host Don Lemon Friday in connection to his coverage of an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service.

"I don’t think that’s journalism. That’s not [the] First Amendment," Greene said of Lemon’s involvement Friday on "Real Time with Bill Maher."

On Friday, federal agents arrested Lemon and charged him with civil rights crimes, including conspiracy to deprive civil rights and interfering with religious freedom.

Lemon livestreamed left-wing agitators who stormed St. Paul's Cities Church on Jan. 18 under the suspicion that its pastor had collaborated with ICE.

MIKE DAVIS: DON LEMON AND HIS CHURCH-STORMING MOB MUST FACE KU KLUX KLAN, FACE ACT CHARGES

Greene appeared to be the sole defender of Lemon’s arrest on HBO’s late-night panel.

"It’s not good to arrest [Lemon]," Maher said.

The former congresswoman pushed back on Maher’s argument, citing the federal law that protects religious exercise at places of worship.

DON LEMON WARNS TRUMP WILL 'RETROFIT' LAWS TO PROSECUTE HIM AFTER JUDGE REJECTS CHARGES

"Well, I’m going to say he violated the FACE Act," Greene countered. "He went into a church, disrupted their worship and then later in an interview compared them to White supremacists."

"That’s not journalism," Greene asserted. "That’s activism."

"But does it warrant getting arrested?" Maher asked.

Greene went on to argue Lemon joined "activists" in "harassing people" in the middle of church, provoking children to cry.

DON LEMON RELEASED FROM CUSTODY AFTER LA COURT APPEARANCE

Meanwhile, Greene’s fellow panelist and MS NOW co-host Joe Scarborough found no fault with Lemon being "aggressive" in his reporting.

"I think there has to be sort of a differentiation between if somebody’s going in there and saying, ‘I’m not with them, can I ask you some questions?’"

DON LEMON TAKEN INTO CUSTODY FOR HIS INVOLVEMENT IN LIVESTREAMING PROTEST AT MINNESOTA CHURCH

"Because you’re going to have embeds in war, you’re going to have embeds in protests," Scarborough continued.

He went on to claim Lemon’s arrest was intended by the Trump administration to "scare" other journalists.

On Jan. 19, Lemon offered his team’s explanation for how he became "the face" of anti-ICE protests in Minnesota.

"My producers said, ‘Don, you're a gay, Black man in America. And you have a platform, and you’re the biggest name,’" Lemon said on Jennifer Welch’s "I’ve Had It" podcast.

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He went on to blast "racist, bigoted homophobes" for singling him out after covering the protest in Cities Church.

"Of course you're going to be the person that they single out, and they're gonna make the headline because it plays to their base, and their base is full of racist, bigoted homophobes like Nicki Minaj, by the way," Lemon added.

The former CNN host was released without bond and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Minneapolis on Feb. 9.

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