Several states are enacting or considering laws that criminalize disruption of religious worship in response to a high-profile protest inside a Minnesota church earlier this year.

Supporters say the measures protect the sanctity and safety of worship spaces, while opponents warn they could be challenged as unconstitutional and overly broad without solid evidence of actual threats.

Many bills propose stiffer penalties, including up to a year in prison and fines up to $10,000 for first offenses, and they include mechanisms to prosecute cases even when local authorities do not act.

Provisions vary, with some bills barring protest near places of worship and extending penalties beyond trespass, potentially allowing removal of protesters from church properties.

Critics fear the laws could infringe on free speech and be misapplied to ordinary religious or ceremonial expressions such as singing out of turn.

The laws—advancing in Idaho, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, and becoming law in Kansas without the governor’s signature—target interference with religious assemblies and expand penalties beyond existing trespass rules.

Similar measures have been advanced in Nassau County, New York, and across multiple states in 2024-25, with federal action mentioned in 1994 on related issues.

Lawmakers argue these laws safeguard congregants’ right to worship and help prevent conflicts prompted by protests near sacred spaces amid heightened concerns about violence toward religious groups.

The Minnesota protest at the center involved 39 individuals charged in federal court for conspiracy and interference with religious freedom; the cases are ongoing, with journalists among those involved.