Minnesota Democrats Stall Bill to Protect Houses of Worship

The recent introduction of Minnesota House File 4095 (HF 4095) proposes a new criminal offence: “disruption of worship services” and it has religious freedom advocates across the state applauding.

Sponsored by Republican Representative Ben Davis and co-authored by more than 30 GOP legislators, the bill would amend Minnesota Statutes to make it a gross misdemeanor for anyone who enters a religious establishment with the intent to disrupt a scheduled worship service and commits a crime in the process.

Repeat offenses would escalate to a felony, carrying penalties of up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

This is the epitome of straightforward, common-sense legislation, yet Democrats appear unwilling to advance it, a revealing display of selective commitment to protecting faith communities.

HF 4095 was born directly from a disturbing incident that went viral in January 2026, when rioters stormed a worship service at Cities Church in St. Paul to confront a pastor allegedly affiliated with ICE. The disruption was connected to broader anti-ICE activism following a fatal shooting during an immigration enforcement operation.

Federal authorities charged several individuals who illegally entered the church under pre-existing laws protecting religious exercise. Rather than condemning the invasion of a sacred space, however, many on the left framed the incident as legitimate protest, dismissing the violation of worshippers’ rights, as well as private property rights.

The bill would close a gap in state law by explicitly criminalizing targeted disruptions of worship services, particularly when paired with additional criminal acts, without broadly restricting free speech. This bill applies narrowly to intentional interference with scheduled services in clearly identified places of worship. Referred to the Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee in March 2026, the bill has since stalled due to the gridlock created thanks to Democrats.

This inaction fits a troubling pattern within the Democrat Party, both in Minnesota, as well as within the national party.  When protesters or rioters target churches, especially those perceived as conservative or tied to figures controversial in the public view, they often receive sympathy or muted criticism from left-leaning voices who frame such actions as protected expression.

Meanwhile, Democrats have championed analogous federal protections for other institutions, such as abortion facilities under the FACE Act, but show little urgency when similar safeguards are proposed for Christian or traditional worship spaces.

In the wake of the St. Paul incident, several Democratic-aligned commentators even portrayed the disruption as an understandable response to policy grievances, rather than an attack on religious liberty.

By stalling HF 4095, Minnesota Democrats are effectively signaling that worship services are fair game for politically motivated disruption, provided the target fits their ideological profile. That selective approach undermines the First Amendment’s free exercise clause, which guarantees Americans the right to practice their faith without undue interference.

Other states, largely led by Republicans, have already responded to the Minnesota incident by introducing or advancing similar legislation, recognizing the urgency of deterring future attacks on houses of worship. Minnesota’s Democrats, however, appear content to leave congregations vulnerable.

Failing to protect worship services from criminal disruption is complicity. Minnesotans deserve leaders who defend religious freedom consistently regardless of political convenience.

Until Democrats throw their support behind measures like HF 4095, their claims to champion civil rights will continue to ring hollow.

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