A Christian pastor has filed a federal lawsuit against Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris after his request to hold a Good Friday vigil on the grounds of the Capitol.
Patrick Mahoney, a Presbyterian reverend from Virginia, said in his Tuesday complaint that his 30-plus-year-long tradition of holding the service on the Lower Western Terrace was denied this year by the Capitol Hill Police Department.
Following the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, sidewalks and grounds surrounding the Capitol were fenced off in a bid to maximize security.
Patrick Mahoney, a Presbyterian reverend from Virginia, said that his tradition of holding the service on the Lower Western Terrace was denied by Capitol Police. Pictured is him at the Capitol last year when the country was in the throes of the coronavirus epidemic
The first page from the complaint that was filed on Tuesday
Mahoney filed for the Good Friday service on Feb. 2 but was told that the fencing was part of the determining factor as to why he wasn’t able to hold the vigil at the location. The official rejection date was March 24.
In the suit, the pastor claims that he has held the vigil at the same spot for years – including in 2020, when he worked with Capitol Police to ensure that he followed guidelines set in place for COVID-19.
The suit names Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. Capitol Police Board, Sergeant in Arms Karen H. Gibson as defendants in the matter.
‘Defendants’ blanket denial of the permitting processes on a traditional public forum is additionally impermissible because they act as a prior restraint on speech,’ the suit reads.
The suit names Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. Capitol Police Board, Sergeant in Arms Karen H. Gibson as defendants in the matter
‘In closing the sidewalks and public areas around the Capitol, including the Lower Western Terrace Plaintiff seeks to utilize, Defendants have effectively created a no-speech zone around the nations Capitol. Defendants prevent any First Amendment activities on/in these areas, even though no specific threat to the Capitol has been identified in justification.’
Mahoney, an anti-abortion activist, denounced the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 while asserting his hopes of ‘praying for a healing for the United States’ following the tumultuous election season.
‘The Plaintiff is a peaceful man of God and feels called upon to pray for the United States,’ the complaint states. ‘He wants to do so at the same place where the attempted and failed insurrection took place. The Plaintiff strongly denounces the criminal conduct by the rioters on January 6, 2021, and cries out against the violence and loss of life that took place that fateful day in this nation’s history.
Mahoney, an anti-abortion activist, denounced the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 while asserting his hopes of ‘praying for a healing for the United States’ following the tumultuous election season
In the suit, the pastor claims that he has held the vigil at the same spot for years – including in 2020, when he worked with Capitol Police to ensure that he followed guidelines set in place for COVID-19
‘The Plaintiff asserts that he does not pose a national security threat to the United States, nor to the House of Representatives, nor the Senate, nor the Capitol Police Department and their officers, nor the Capitol Building and/or surrounding grounds. The Plaintiff only wants to discharge his obligation to God Almighty by praying for a healing for the United States, all of our elected leaders, the people of this nation, and for the Defendants in this action.’
The suit indicates that during discussions with Capitol Police for the permit, Mahoney was offered ‘an alternative site for the Good Friday vigil on the western side of the Capitol by a large statue of Ulysses S. Grant.
Mahoney ‘declined because this location is further away from the Capitol and lawmakers,’ according to the complaint.
Mahoney went to Twitter to announce the lawsuit and share a series of post related to it
The Center for American Liberty, Chavez-Ochoa Law Offices and the Dhillon Law Group are representing Mahoney on the matter
The Center for American Liberty, Chavez-Ochoa Law Offices and the Dhillon Law Group are representing Mahoney on the matter.
‘Denying a minister and faithful parishioners the ability to pray outside the U.S. Capitol is unfathomable and violates First Amendment guarantees for traditional public forums,’ Harmeet K. Dhillon, CEO of the Center for American Liberty, said in a release from the nonprofit.
Mahoney and the nonprofit are seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction from the court requiring the Lower Western Terrace and Lawn be opened for expression.
