In a resounding victory for the First Amendment, a federal district court ruled in favor of Reverend Patrick Mahoney, safeguarding his—and all Americans’—free speech rights on the U.S. Capitol Grounds.
You can read more about Rev. Mahoney’s case here.
The court’s opinion means that Rev. Mahoney is now free to pray and peacefully demonstrate in this area that the Capitol Police once arbitrarily deemed off limits to Rev. Mahoney.
Here’s what you need to know about the court’s ruling:
- The court found that the lower portion of the eastern Capitol steps is a traditional public forum;
- That designation means that the Capitol Police Board’s complete prohibition on demonstration activity on the lower portion of the eastern steps violates the First Amendment;
- As a result, the Capitol Police Board is permanently enjoined from enforcing the No Demonstration Zone on the lower portion of the steps.
Following January 6, 2021—for the first time in history—the Capitol Grounds were closed to demonstration activity, even by a single person. Fences went up, and the First Amendment meant little. It was a dark time for free expression in America. The People’s House was closed to the people.
When the Capitol Police finally removed the fencing that had surrounded the U.S. Capitol Ground for months, the Grounds were once again open for First Amendment expression.
Or so Rev. Mahoney thought.
When Rev. Mahoney applied for a permit to hold a prayer vigil on September 11th on the steps of the Capitol, the U.S. Capitol Police Board told him that the Grounds remained restricted and denied his request.
At the same time, Capitol Police allowed other groups to hold large protests on the Grounds, including some on the steps on the U.S. Capitol, simply because a member of Congress authorized the protests to go forward. But Rev. Mahoney did not have a member of Congress advocating for him, so the U.S. Capitol Police Board denied him the right to speak.
That was unconstitutional.
Earlier this year, Rev. Mahoney reached a settlement with the U.S. Capitol Police Board to expand protest and demonstration activity on the U.S. Capitol Grounds. These changes chipped away at both the stranglehold the Capitol Police have had on free expression on the Capitol Grounds since January 6, 2021, and the preferential treatment that, for decades, has been afforded certain groups favored by members of Congress.
Today’s ruling from the court smashes that stranglehold, ensuring that every American—regardless of whether they have a member of Congress in their pocket—can exercise their right to free speech on the U.S. Capitol Grounds.
Today is a new day for demonstrations and free expression on the U.S. Capitol Grounds.