(RestoreAmericanGlory.com) – Three Christian churchgoers in Idaho are going to receive $300,000 from a college town after they sued the city for their arrest during the coronavirus pandemic for not abiding by the mask mandate during an outside service.
Last week, Moscow, Idaho, announced that they had reached a settlement with Rachel and Sean Bohnet, as well as Gabriel Rench, all three of whom sued city leaders in March 2021 for violating their First and Fourth Amendment rights. The three churchgoers have stated that they were arrested during an outdoor “psalm sing” that their church leaders organized in September 2020.
Footage from the arrest had also been posted online and had, at the time, gone viral. Then-President Donald Trump had also condemned the arrest on Twitter, as it was seen that Rench’s hymn book was taken from him before they handcuffed him and led him to the county jail, where he remained for several hours.
The psalm-singing protest had lasted a total of 20 minutes and had taken place outside Moscow City Hall. In the area, city officials had set small yellow dots on the ground that showed the social distancing rules that participants needed to follow. However, Rench and the Bohnets had violated the city’s health ordinance.
The case against the three churchgoers was later dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. In his memorandum, he noted that the three churchgoers should not have been arrested because of the constitutional exception that protected them. This exception was ignored by the city during the creation of the health ordinance.
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