GOP states move to make church service disruptions a felony after Minnesota storming

A growing number of U.S. states have introduced legislation that would make it a felony for protesters to disrupt church services or other places of worship, in an apparent effort to head off anti-ICE demonstrations like those that unfolded weeks earlier in Minnesota.

In Ohio, two GOP lawmakers introduced a new bill, HB 662, that would reclassify interfering with religious services from a first-degree misdemeanor to a fifth-degree felony. The authors of the legislation, Republican Reps. Tex Fischer and Johnathan Newman, pointed to the recent Minnesota unrest as the driver behind their new legislation.

“While every American has the right to peacefully protest ICE or any other government entity, they do not have a right to storm into a place of worship and disrupt another American’s right to freely practice their religion,” Fischer said.

“We cannot allow our country to be a place where families fear they may face harassment or see their religious services disrupted by activists attempting to score political points while attending church on a Sunday morning,” he added. 

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Meanwhile, in Oklahoma, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law a Republican-led bill that strengthens penalties against demonstrators who disrupt church services in the state and creates a so-called “buffer zone” around worshipers to further protect churchgoers.

In Alabama, House lawmakers are preparing to vote on a Republican-backed bill that would make it a Class C felony for individuals to enter a church or place of worship with intent to disrupt a service. If passed, first-time violators could face up to 10 years in prison.

And in Idaho, a newly proposed bill seeks to add churches and religious services to the state’s “disturbing the peace” law, which currently applies to neighborhoods, families and individuals. Violations of the existing law are a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and up to six months in prison.

Other states have introduced bills that would enact harsher penalties for individuals obstructing or interfering with religious services, and some lawmakers have pointed directly to Minnesota as the reason for the changes.

South Dakota, for its part, has mulled two separate bills this year aimed at cracking down on church demonstrations. 

The first, introduced by a Republican lawmaker in the state, sought to enact a 50-foot perimeter around places of worship, and include a one-hour time buffer barring demonstrations from taking place before or after any services. That effort failed to garner support amid concerns of potential First Amendment violations. 

But the second bill, filed by South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden, a Republican, has gained more traction.

Rhoden’s legislation would reclassify the disruption of a church service from a misdemeanor to a felony, punishable by two years in state prison, a fine of up to $4,000, or both.

The state lawmakers are part of a growing list of legislatures that have sought to enact similar measures in the weeks following anti-ICE disruption at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, where a group stormed into the church chanting “ICE out,” among other things.

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The disturbance resulted in federal criminal charges against nine individuals, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon and another journalist. All were indicted on charges of allegedly conspiring to violate constitutional rights, as well as violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. 

The FACE Act, passed in 1994, is a federal law that prohibits intimidation, or obstruction to deliberately “injure, intimidate, or interfere” with an individual’s ability to exercise their right to religious freedom at a reproductive healthcare facility or a place of worship. 

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Republicans and pro-life groups criticized the law as being selectively enforced under previous administrations, and focusing almost overwhelmingly on demonstrations outside reproductive healthcare facilities, rather than places of worship.

Shortly after the start of his second term, President Donald Trump announced the pardon of 23 individuals arrested for FACE Act violations.

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The Justice Department has no official tally of the individuals charged under the FACE Act since its passage more than 30 years ago.