Church trespass bill moves to Idaho House for consideration

By Logan Finney | FāVS News Reporter

Idaho lawmakers advanced a bill on Monday that would establish specific criminal penalties for people who trespass to disrupt church services or religious worship.

Rep. Cornel Rasor, R-Sandpoint, said the bill was meant to close a gap in the law after growing national concerns about protests and disruptions at religious worship services.

“We’ve seen a rise in targeted disruptions nationwide, like the January incident in Minnesota where protesters stormed a church service, leading to arrests,” Rasor told the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration committee.

“Closer to home, we have church safety groups which have indicated that they have struggled with some of these things. They haven’t risen to the level of being reported or necessarily needing law enforcement interdiction, but it’s a growing concern,” Rasor said.

Edward Clark, a policy analyst for the Idaho Family Policy Center, also spoke in favor.

“America must remain a place where Christians can meet and worship without undue disruption,” Clark said. “We have about 200 pastors in our pastor network, and we hear frequently that many of these pastors and church faculty are concerned about not being able to handle situations that arise during the course of their worship.”

Senate Bill 1296 would add a provision to the state’s existing criminal trespass law. It would make entering a house of worship without permission “with the intent to intimidate or harass or to disrupt” the service a misdemeanor with a fine and up to six months in jail.

A former Idaho state lawmaker testified remotely, expressing a desire for stiffer penalties.

“I used to be our church building coordinator, and I see a lot of the benefit from this bill. I know that Don Lemon sure deserves the charges that he received from the Minnesota incident,” said Chad Christensen of Idaho Falls. “If you’re there to intimidate and harass, I think we need to make this a stiffer penalty – maybe up to a year, which a misdemeanor conviction allows.”

The committee unanimously advanced the bill to the floor without changes. If approved by the full House, it would go to the governor’s desk for consideration before becoming law.

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