Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. | Wikimedia Commons/Farragutful The Department of Justice is backing Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., in its lawsuit against Mayor Murriel Bowser for unfairly applying a ban on outdoor church services of more than 100 people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The department said it has filed a “statement of interest” in support of the 850-member church, which filed a complaint in federal court last week, arguing that the city had violated the First and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The DOJ has argued that “the Constitution and federal law require the District of Columbia to accommodate Capitol Hill Baptist Church’s effort to hold worship services outdoors, at least to the same extent the District of Columbia allows other forms of outdoor First Amendment activity, such as peaceful protests.” “The right to free exercise of religion and the right to protest are both enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution,” Eric Dreiband, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, said in the DOJ statement . “We are a nation dedicated to freedom of conscience and freedom of expression. The District of Columbia has, […]
