John,
We won!
Let me explain.
As you probably know, Rev. Patrick Mahoney has been attempting to hold small, peaceful prayer services on U.S. Capitol grounds for some time now.
But the U.S. Capitol Police Board repeatedly denied his permit requests – including last year on 9/11 and this year on Good Friday.
With your support, we sued the Police Board on behalf of Rev. Mahoney, and after many ups and downs, I am pleased to share with you today that they’ve finally caved.
That’s right.
Capitol Police recently called Rev. Mahoney to let him know that they have changed their policy and will now allow for First Amendment activity—including Rev. Mahoney’s prayer services—on the western lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
This is a massive win for religious gatherings – and it wouldn’t have happened without your support of this lawsuit.
Your generous support allowed us to persist with this lawsuit even in the face of denials from the court and a seemingly immovable opponent.
And now, we’ve successfully forced the Police Board to change its policy and restore the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of assembly.
However, while this is a great victory, the fight is not completely over.
While the Capitol Police Board opened the western lawn for First Amendment activity, it didn’t open other areas of the Capitol grounds that are being restricted.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times, the Capitol belongs to the people and the people should be able to freely access the grounds for peaceful purposes.
Though we’re strategizing how to proceed, I wanted to make sure to acknowledge this big win and personally thank you for your support.
Without you we wouldn’t have been able to fight this battle and so many others.
It is only with your help that we can defend our freedoms each and every day. And, as long as you’re with us, we won’t stop.
Thank you again for all that you do.
Sincerely,
