After ICE protestors in St. Paul shocked the nation by invading and disrupting anongoing church service earlier this year, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle – and in both Houses of Congress - have introduced a new bill to enact heavy fines on any such behavior in the future.Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Congressman Brad Knott (R-NC), along with Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), introduced the Right to Worship Act in the House and the Senate, to establish a 100 foot, protest free buffer zone around houses of worship during religious services, making it unlawful to knowingly disrupt or impede people from attending.
This law imposes steep civil fines for violations such as what occurred in Cities Church in St. Paul on January 8, 2026. As described by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, “a group of approximately 40 agitators . . . entered the Church in a coordinated takeover-style attack and engaged in acts of oppression, intimidation, threats, interference, and physical obstruction alleged herein. As a result of defendants' conduct, the pastor and congregation were forced to terminate the Church's worship service and congregants fled the Church building out of fear for their safety.”
The shocking nature of this incident, which resulted in charges being brought against the protestors, is what spurred the birth of this new bill. If it passes, this behavior will be met with a tiered schedule of civil fines assessed by the Attorney General.
For example: a first offense would incur a civil fine of $2,500; a second offense would rise to $5,000; and a third and all subsequent offenses would incur a fine of $10,000 per occurrence.
In addition, the bill allows affected worshippers to file a civil lawsuit against violators. In these lawsuits, a court can order the violator to pay:
• Actual Damages: Compensatory and punitive damages to the victims. • Statutory Damages: Worshippers can choose to claim statutory damages of $5,000 per violation if they cannot prove actual financial losses. • Legal Fees: Violators can be ordered to pay the plaintiff's attorney fees and expert witness costs.
The bill specifically excludes peaceful expression protected by the First Amendment which safeguards a person’s right to speak freely on public property. Protestors can stand outside a church on a public sidewalk holding signs and passing out leaflets. However, houses of worship are private property and protestors are not protected by the First Amendment when they enter private property and force an uninvited message onto a private assembly.
When a group enters a church, such as the protestors in the Cities Church incident, shouts down a pastor, blocks entrances, or uses amplified sound to drown out a service, they are imposing what’s called a "substantial burden" on the congregation's right to the free exercise of religion. Courts have consistently ruled that a person cannot violate one constitutional right (freedom of religion) in the name of exercising another (freedom of speech).
In addition to exacting fines for such behavior, the Right to Worship Act will also prohibit protestors from standing within 100 feet of a house of worship during a window of time stretching from one hour before, to one hour after, a service.
“Exercising your right to worship should not require you to exhibit particular courage as you enter your synagogue, church, mosque, temple, mandir, or gurdwara,” said Congressman Suozzi. “I will always stand up for people’s right to protest peacefully, but attendees of religious services should not be harassed, threatened, intimidated, or targeted for practicing their faith.”
Senator Ted Cruz, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, agrees. "The First Amendment guarantees every American the right to freely exercise their faith, and Congress has a duty to ensure that guarantee is met. In recent years, we have seen organized acts of hate meant to disrupt and deny that right, which have been untenably defended as speech. That is why I am introducing the Right to Worship Act, and I urge my colleagues to support it.”
An ever-growing list of religious organizations have announced their endorsement of the bill, including the USCCB’s chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty, the Most Reverend Alexander K. Sample, Archbishop of Portland.
“I write to thank you for introducing the right to Worship Act,” Archbishop Sample wrote in an August 26 letter to the sponsors of the bill. “Religious liberty is ‘Our First, Most Cherished Liberty,’ and people of faith should be able to attend religious services without fear of intimidation or harassment.”
Catholic League President Bill Donohue also signed on as an endorser. “We live in a time when people of faith are under attack. There can be no freedom without religious liberty, and that is why the Catholic League is proud to endorse the ‘Right to Worship Act.’”
Also endorsing the bill is the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, Coalition of Hindus in North American, Islamic Society of North America, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, UNITED SIKHS, and the Hindu America Foundation.
Having just been introduced in both chambers, the Right to Worship Act must first go through the standard committee review, hearings, and floor votes in both chambers before it can head to the President’s desk for signature.
Please contact your representatives and urge them to support this important bill!
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