August 6, 2026
Mr. Knott (for himself, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Lawler, and Mr. Gottheimer) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
To protect the right to the free exercise of religion.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Right to Worship Act
.
Sec. 2. Protecting the right to the free exercise of religion
(a) Definitions and rules
(1) Definitions
In this section:
(A) Disrupt
The term disrupt, used with respect to conduct and a scheduled religious service, means conduct that meaningfully interferes with the ability of people to participate in the scheduled religious service, to the extent that the conduct causes a substantial interruption to the service’s normal operation.
(B) House of worship
The term house of worship means a defined parcel of property or other space that religious adherents collectively recognize or religious leadership designates as a place to routinely or regularly gather to hold religious services.
(C) Impede
The term impede, used with respect to conduct and a scheduled religious service, means conduct that unreasonably hinders or deters a person from entering a house of worship, or that threatens or intimidates a person, in a manner that prevents participation at a scheduled religious service.
(D) Knowingly
The term knowingly, used with respect to a person and a disruption or impediment, means that the person is aware or reasonably should be aware that the person’s conduct will cause such disruption or impediment, respectively.
(E) Religious service
The term religious service includes any collective worship or prayer service, class, or other event, at which individuals congregate to worship, study, or otherwise exercise, their religion.
(F) Scheduled religious service
The term scheduled religious service includes any religious service—
(i)
that is observably underway or imminently beginning or concluding, as evidenced by the gathering or dispersing of congregants at or by congregants approaching or leaving a house of worship;
(ii)
the date and time of which have been communicated to the defendant by law enforcement, by a representative of the house of worship, or through a prior judicial or administrative proceeding, or of which the defendant had actual knowledge; or
(iii)
follows a customary and regularly recurring schedule of which the defendant had actual knowledge.
(G) State
The term State includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth or territory.
(2) Rules
(A) Scheduled religious service
Nothing in this section shall require a house of worship to publish the schedule for a scheduled religious service on any publicly accessible medium.
(B) Disruption
For the purposes of this section, whether a person’s course of conduct is a disruption shall be determined only by the manner in which the course of conduct is carried out, including its volume, duration, pervasiveness, frequency, and impact, rather than by the content of any speech or expression involved.
(b) Prohibited activities
It shall be unlawful for any person—
(1)
to engage in a course of conduct that substantially affects interstate commerce, within 100 feet from any pedestrian or vehicular entryway of any house of worship, during the period beginning 1 hour before the start of and ending 1 hour after the conclusion of a scheduled religious service, by knowingly disrupting the scheduled religious service or knowingly impeding people from participating at the scheduled religious service; or
(2)
to conspire to engage in, or cause another person to engage in, any course of conduct made unlawful under paragraph (1).
(c) Rules of construction
Nothing in this section shall be construed—
(1)
to preclude a person from freely speaking on any subject so long as such speech is conducted pursuant to the time, place, and manner restrictions set forth in this section; or
(2)
to preclude participation in activities for which a Federal, State, or local government entity has issued a permit.
(d) Civil fines
Whoever violates this section shall be assessed, by the Attorney General—
(1)
in the case of a first offense, a civil fine of $2,500;
(2)
in the case of a second offense, a civil fine of $5,000; and
(3)
in the case of a third or subsequent offense, a civil fine of $10,000 per occurrence.
(e) Civil remedies
(1) Right of action
(A) In general
Any person aggrieved by reason of a violation of subsection (b) may commence a civil action for the relief set forth in subparagraph (B) in any appropriate district court of the United States.
(B) Relief
In any action under subparagraph (A), the court may award appropriate relief, including temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, as well as the costs of suit and reasonable fees for attorneys and expert witnesses. With respect to compensatory damages, the plaintiff may elect, at any time prior to the rendering of final judgment, to recover, in lieu of actual damages, an award of statutory damages in the amount of $5,000 per violation.
(2) Action by attorney general of the united states
(A) In general
If the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that any person (including a group of persons) is being, has been, or may be injured by conduct constituting a violation of this section, the Attorney General may commence a civil action in any appropriate district court of the United States.
(B) Relief
In any action under subparagraph (A), the court may award appropriate relief, including temporary, preliminary or permanent injunctive relief, and compensatory damages to a person aggrieved as described in paragraph (1)(A). In the absence of actual damages, the court, to vindicate the public interest, may assess a civil penalty against each defendant in the amount of $5,000 per violation.
(3) Actions by state attorney general
(A) In general
If the Attorney General of a State has reasonable cause to believe that any person (including a group of persons) is being, has been, or may be injured by conduct constituting a violation of this section, such Attorney General may commence a civil action in the name of such State, as parens patriae on behalf of natural persons residing in such State, in any appropriate district court of the United States.
(B) Relief
In any action under subparagraph (A), the court may award the relief described in paragraph (2)(B).
(f) Severability
If any provision of this Act (including a sentence, phrase, or word) or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid, illegal, unconstitutional, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this Act and of the application of the provision to any person or circumstance, that can be enforced without the use of the offending provision or application, shall not be affected.