Liberty Counsel

CA Churches Fined for Worship

VENTURA, CA – California Pastor Rob McCoy of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Thousand Oaks appeared before Judge Vincent O’Neill in Superior Court of Ventura County on Friday, August 21 and was held in contempt of court. Godspeak Calvary Chapel was fined $500 per three services, for two Sundays, or a total of $3,000.

Boston Censorship of Religious Viewpoint

BOSTON, MA – Liberty Counsel filed the reply brief to the First Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of Boston resident Hal Shurtleff and his Christian civic organization, Camp Constitution, arguing that the city of Boston violated the First Amendment by censoring a private flag in a public forum merely because it contained a cross.

Court Sides with Photographer on Free Speech

LOUISVILLE, KY – A U.S. District Court issued a preliminary injunction that stops the enforcement of a Louisville law that forced a wedding photographer and blogger to participate in same-sex weddings against her conscience.

No IRS Tax Breaks for Abortion

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- More than 100 U.S. senators and representatives have signed a letter urging the Department of the Treasury to abandon Internal Revenue Service guidance that classifies abortion as health care.

Kamala Harris Used Political Power to Prosecute Merritt

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Five years ago, it was former California attorney general Kamala Harris (now senator and VP candidate) who launched the investigation into the work of Sandra Merritt and David Daleiden, the founder of the Center for Medical Progress, after these citizen journalists discovered and produced videos documenting Planned Parenthood’s illegal trafficking of aborted baby body parts.

NV Governor Punishes Casino for Hosting Worship Service

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak fined the Las Vegas Ahern Hotel for hosting a worship service for an “Evangelicals for Trump” group inside a casino ballroom because it violated his unconstitutional 50-person gathering limit on houses of worship.

Harvest Rock Church Receives Cease and Desist Letter

LOS ANGELES, CA – Today, Harvest Rock Church received a letter from the City of Pasadena’s code compliance officer demanding that in-person worship services cease. The letter states that the City of Pasadena will continue to enforce the governor’s orders “until the present emergency ends.”

CA Church Worships Despite Legal Threats

VENTURA, CA – After receiving an order from a Ventura state judge last Friday banning the church’s in-person services, Godspeak Calvary Chapel (Church) held three worship services yesterday. As many as 2500 people attended one of three services in-person, or in the parking lot, along with 26,000 online. Church members from another congregation drove two hours to stand outside in the parking lot during the services to voluntarily receive citations so others could worship inside. The only citation issued was to an Antifa protestor for disturbing the peace.

CA Governor Defends Protests While Banning ALL Worship

LOS ANGELES, CA – Liberty Counsel filed a reply memorandum of law in federal court seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on behalf of Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry against Governor Gavin Newsom’s COVID-19 orders prohibiting all indoor worship services in most of the state and “singing and chanting” in the counties not on the “County Monitoring List.” Yet, Newsom encourages mass gatherings of protestors. The governor’s unconstitutional orders include home Bible studies and fellowship.

CA Church Ordered to Stop Worship

VENTURA, CA – Today, a Ventura County state judge issued a temporary restraining order to Pastor Rob McCoy of Godspeak Calvary Chapel Church prohibiting the church from meeting under Governor Newsom’s unconstitutional COVID-19 no singing and no worship orders. Liberty Counsel does not represent the church but is working with the pastor and his legal counsel.

Maine Governor Cannot Assign Churches Second-Class Status

BANGOR, ME – Liberty Counsel filed the reply brief to the First Circuit Court of Appeals regarding Calvary Chapel of Bangor’s appeal in the lawsuit against Governor Janet Mills’ unconstitutional orders against churches. Under the governor’s challenged orders when the complaint was filed, no religious gatherings were permitted, including parking lot services.

Victory for Faith-based Adoption Agency

SYRACUSE, NY – A federal Court of Appeals issued a decision that allows a faith-based adoption agency to sue officials in New York state who are seeking to force the charity to place children with unmarried and same-sex couples instead of referring them to other providers. The appeals court reversed a district court’s dismissal of New Hope’s lawsuit against New York officials seeking to shut down the provider simply for its religious beliefs about marriage.

Texas AG Prohibits Government from Closing Religious Schools

AUSTIN, TX – The attorney general of Texas has ordered local authorities to cease any attempts to shut down faith-based private schools, stating that those institutions are protected by both the U.S. Constitution and Texas statute. In a public letter Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote, “Under the Governor’s orders, local governments are prohibited from closing religious institutions or dictating mitigation strategies to those institutions. Local governments are similarly prohibited from issuing blanket orders closing religious private schools.”

Criminal Charges Against VA Pastor Dropped

ACCOMAC, VA – The Commonwealth of Virginia has dropped the criminal charges against Pastor Kevin Wilson of Lighthouse Fellowship Church on Chincoteague Island. As a result of Virginia Governor Northam’s unconstitutional COVID Order 55, police served a summons to Pastor Kevin Wilson for holding a church service on Palm Sunday for 16 people spaced far apart in a sanctuary that is rated for 293 people. The penalty included up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. The general district court for Accomack County has now dropped the charges.

Liberty Counsel Rebuts Fake News About Paycheck Protection Program

ORLANDO, FL -- Online news sources and blogs are republishing unsourced and fabricated fake news regarding Liberty Counsel in an article about nonprofit organizations receiving loans in the Paycheck Protection Program. Some of the false information appears to have originated in a July 8 article written for Creative Loafing at cltampa.com, by its digital editor Colin Wolf, who wrote that Liberty Counsel had received PPP funds but “reportedly retained no jobs.”

Little Sisters Win Again

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of the Trump administration’s exemption of religious employers from the Affordable Care Act (ACA or known as ObamaCare) requirement to provide insurance coverage for contraception and other abortion-inducing drugs and devices in their health insurance plans. The case is titled, Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania.

Big Win for Religious Schools

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that faith-based schools have a First Amendment Free Exercise right to make employment decisions regarding religious teachers without government interference. The principles set forth in the consolidated cases of Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel apply beyond teachers at a religious school. In both cases, two teachers at Catholic schools were required by their annual agreement and faculty handbook, to adhere to and teach, the doctrine and sacraments of the Catholic Church. In both cases, at their annual review, the teachers were not offered contract renewals. They filed discrimination claims in federal district court against their former employers. The Supreme Court ruled that both schools were protected religious organizations and that the courts could not interfere with their employment decisions under the “ministerial” exception that protects the autonomy of houses of worship and religious employers.

CA Governor Bans Singing in Church

SACRAMENTO, CA -- Governor Gavin Newsom has further discriminated against churches by banning singing and chanting in houses of worship and limiting in-person services to 25 percent of building capacity or a maximum of 100 attendees, yet for weeks has allowed thousands of people to protest in mass gatherings. In the recent California Department of Public Health “guidelines” for places of worship and providers of religious services, state health officials recommend churches have members sing online from their homes. The document states: “Places of worship must therefore discontinue indoor singing and chanting activities and limit indoor attendance to 25% of building capacity or a maximum of 100 attendees, whichever is lower.”

Colorado AG Threatens to Stop Bible Conference

WOODLAND PARK, CO – The Colorado State attorney general attempted to ban Andrew Wommack Ministries from holding in-person gatherings of more than 175 people in accordance with the governor’s draconian orders, while permitting mass protests with no social distancing or other health precautions. AG Kuhn sent a cease and desist letter to the ministry in an attempt to shut down its Bible conference held at Charis Bible College on the last day, as well as any future conferences. Liberty Counsel is representing Andrew Wommack Ministries.

Faith and Courage of America’s Founders

ORLANDO, FL – In today’s society where some people are frantically trying to erase America’s history, the signers of the Declaration of Independence, a document which maintained that the thirteen American states were free of British rule, clearly revealed their faith and sacrifice to ensure that this nation was founded upon Judeo-Christian principles and religious freedom.