Police threatened to arrest David Hoffman for sharing his faith at an Arizona Christmas festival. 

Last December, David attended the Winterhaven Festival of Lights in Tucson to share his faith. The festival was held on city streets, open to the public, and free of charge. Hoffman handed out Gospel literature and had conversations about his Christian faith with anyone willing to listen.

Citing a policy prohibiting “political, religious, or commercial materials or messaging,” city police threatened to arrest him unless he moved to a “Designated Space for Peaceful Messaging and Literature Distribution” located on the outskirts of the festival. 

At one point, Hoffman asked whether he could respond to someone who approached him and asked, “What would I do if I am lost?” He was told he could only hold that conversation “outside the perimeter.”

Fearing arrest, Hoffman left voluntarily. But now, he wants to resume sharing his faith at the Winterhaven Festival, including the one this December.

We filed a federal lawsuit this week to ensure that David—and all residents—can share their beliefs in public, as the Constitution guarantees.

“A public street festival is just that,” said First Liberty Senior Counsel Nate Kellum, “a public space where citizens can visit, walk around, and converse with each other about different ideas. The government cannot ban only religious messages.”

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear our case on behalf of eight firefighters in Washington state who were punished and put on unpaid leave for requesting religious accommodations.

This leaves in place a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that held the fire department did not violate the law when it refused to accommodate the firefighters’ religious beliefs.

“Washington can celebrate that it has taken away the religious liberty rights of our clients,” said First Liberty Senior Counsel Cliff Martin.

Even though this is the end of the road for this case, First Liberty’s work is far from finished.

Among the multiple cases we are fighting involving the rights of American employees—cases that can ensure our clients and millions of Americans don’t have to choose between their faith and their livelihood:

“Government officials should take notice that we will always fight for employees of faith to have equal opportunities in the workplace,” Martin added. “First Liberty will fight until every employee has access to religious accommodations.”

The U.S. Supreme Court is back in session. The justices are also deliberating which cases to take in the months ahead.

They have already agreed to hear two of ours:

Right now, First Liberty also has a record number of requests pending. We’re waiting for a response on seven, with more on the way.

We’ve also received a massive outpouring of support from all over the country. More than 100 other allies and government officials filed friend-of-the-court briefs supporting our clients.

This broad support underscores how vital every one of these legal battles is for religious liberty. These could impact the freedoms of every American—from students’ rights, to parental rights, the right to seek relief in court for constitutional violations, the rights of houses of worship to be treated fairly, and the freedom to choose the best education for our children.

Taking a case to the Supreme Court requires tremendous resources—but we never send our clients a bill, thanks to our faithful supporters.

Your gift today will help fuel First Liberty’s efforts, helping our legal team fight at the highest level—and pursue victories that can protect religious freedom for decades to come.