Dem Staffer Who Filmed His Sexcapades in a Senate Hearing Room Later Checked...
CNN's Scott Jennings Knew Exactly Why Seinfeld Creator Larry David Attacked Bill Maher
New Jersey Republicans Are Getting Help From a Familiar Individual
Weirdo Lib Wearing What Appears to Be a Luigi Mangione T-Shirt Attacks Trump...
Independent Journalist Used Two Words That Perfectly Described Taylor Lorenz
Is This Trump's Best Line From the White House Easter Egg Roll?
The Left's Obsession With Clipping Pete Hegseth Is Bordering on Psychotic
Trump Won’t Get Tricked Into Sacrificing Pete Hegseth to the Democrats
How Trump Handled Biggs Entering the AZ Governor's Race After He Already Endorsed...
The White House Responds After Harvard Files Lawsuit Against Trump Administration Over Fun...
A Familiar Face Jumps in Race for California Governor
Harvard Presidents—On Sale at Macy's
Dylan Mulvaney Plans on Leaving the US. Here's Where He's Headed.
Exposed: Another Bogus Immigration 'Controversy' Falls Apart
The Savaging of the Climate Politico-Legal-Media Complex
Tipsheet

Liberal City Reaches Settlement With Christians Arrested During Outdoor Church Service

Enterline Design Services LLC/iStock/Getty Images Plus

The liberal college town of Moscow, Idaho, has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by Christians who were arrested while maskless at an outdoor church service during the pandemic. 

Advertisement

The trio—Gabriel Rench and Sean and Rachel Bohnet—sued the city in March of 2021, arguing their First and Fourth Amendment rights were violated when they were arrested at the Psalm Sing, which was organized as a protest against a City Council-imposed mask mandate. 


Rench and the others were charged with violating the city's repeatedly extended health ordinance, which carved out exemptions for activities protected under the U.S. Constitution and the Idaho State Constitution, including religious activity.

A magistrate judge later dismissed the city's case against them, and U.S. District Court Judge Morrison C. England, Jr., wrote in his Feb. 1, 2023 memorandum and order denying the city's motion to dismiss that the "plaintiffs should never have been arrested in the first place, and the constitutionality of what the City thought [its] code said is irrelevant."

"Somehow, every single City official involved overlooked the exclusionary language [of constitutionally protected behavior] in the Ordinance," the judge further wrote.

Rench told Fox News Digital that he has nevertheless become a pariah in his predominantly liberal community since the arrest and subsequent settlement. Rench says members of his community have accused him of being "an idiot" who does not "love his neighbor" and have urged him to "take your money and run" since the payout. (Fox News Digital)

Advertisement

While there was no apology from the city, Moscow said its liability insurance provider "determined that a financial settlement in the case was the best course of action to dispose of the suit and avoid a protracted litigation proceeding," according to a press release obtained by Fox News Digital. 

"Under the terms of the settlement agreement, ICRMP will pay a total settlement amount of $300,000 and all claims against the City and the named City employees will be dismissed with prejudice along with a release of all liability," the release added, noting that the city was attempting "to protect the public during an exceptionally trying time."


 

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Townhall Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement