Statewide, Iowa – A bill under consideration in the Iowa House would make it a felony to intentionally disrupt a religious service.
Republican Representative Carter Nordman of Dallas Center says he filed the bill after a protest inside a Minnesota church where a pastor worked for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Making people at a religious service feel unsafe, blocking entrances or creating persistent or unreasonable noise would be a state crime if the bill becomes law. A person convicted of interference with a religious service could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.
Representative Monica Kurth, a Democrat from Davenport, voted against the bill. She says current law allows a wide range of penalties for a church disturbance.
The U.S. Justice Department has filed charges against over 30 people accused of disrupting the Minnesota church service in January.
KIWA Staff Photo
