Louisiana empowers churches to forcibly remove service protesters

 Louisiana has passed two laws aimed at stopping people from disrupting church services, months after protesters made national headlines by disrupting a Minnesota church service in opposition to one of its pastors serving as a federal immigration enforcement agent.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed House Bill 294, which helps empower churches to remove trespassers from their property, and House Bill 68, which expands the legal definition of disturbing the peace to include disrupting worship services.

HB 294 states that any religious leader,  security team member "or person who is lawfully on the premises of a church or other place of worship" can request a trespasser or disruptive individual to leave the premises. If those requests are not granted, the law gives people lawfully present at the facility the right to use "reasonable and apparently necessary force" to remove the trespasser from the property. 

“In Louisiana, we are committed to maintaining the right to worship without interference, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to safeguarding religious liberty,” Landry said in a statement Monday. “With the signing of these two bills, those protections just became stronger.”

Democratic Rep. Edmond Jordan was among the critics of HB 294, telling the bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Gabe Firment, earlier this year that he believed the bill could be used to advance discrimination.

“If somebody of the opposite race comes into the church and a member of the church is offended by that, and says that they are trespassing — they’re not being disruptive — but they determine that they’re trespassing and they ask them to leave, now they’re just there to worship, you don’t see your bill opening that up?” Jordan asked Firment.

Louisiana empowers churches to forcibly remove protesters | Politics

Iran allegedly behind Canada attacks on US consulate, synagogue

One of the allegations made in the criminal complaint against Kataib Hezbollah senior official Mohammad Bagher Saad Dawood al-Saadi, following the US Department of Justice announcement of his arrest on Friday, was that Iranian proxies may have been behind at least two March shooting attacks in Toronto. 

 In the complaint, Saadi, working on behalf of the Islamic Regime proxy, told an undercover law enforcement officer that his "people" were behind two attacks in Canada, against a consulate and synagogue.

Iran allegedly behind Canada attacks on synagogue, US consulate | The Jerusalem Post

Minnesota off-loads fraud cases onto federal investigators due to overwhelming backlog

Minnesota is handing healthcare fraud cases off to federal investigators amid a surge in criminal referrals overwhelming state oversight officials. The heads of various Minnesota agencies tasked with tackling fraud are turning to the federal government to take the reins on a wave of new fraud reports piling up in the state’s social services programs.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/investigations/4556120/minnesota-fraud-cases-overwhelming-backlog/

Former Teacher EXPOSES Private Schools: Parent Drama, Weak Discipline & Administration Problems

Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen appeals to European Court of Human Rights after guilty verdict over Bible pamphlet

 Finnish parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen announced Thursday that she is appealing to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after the Supreme Court of Finland found her guilty of hate speech in March for a 22-year-old pamphlet condemning homosexuality.

"The failure of the Finnish Supreme Court to uphold freedom of speech has set a dangerous precedent in my country and across Europe. I feel it is my duty to appeal this decision, to reinstate respect for the basic human right that all are free to peacefully express their views in the public square," Räsänen said, according to a press release from the nonprofit legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International.

Räsänen, who led Finland's Christian Democratic Party from 2004 to 2015 and served as the country's interior minister from 2011 to 2015, was convicted on March 26 in a slim 3-2 ruling against her under Chapter 11 of the Finnish Penal Code, which deals with "agitation against a minority group."

The high court ruled that because Räsänen's pamphlet from 2004 argued that homosexuality is intrinsically disordered, it could be seen to "insult homosexuals as a group on the basis of their sexual orientation."

Räsänen was ordered to pay a fine of €1,800 (about $2,080), and the court ordered the destruction of all physical and digital copies of the pamphlet, which was titled "Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual relationships challenge the Christian concept of humanity."

Bishop Juhana Pohjola of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, who published the pamphlet with Räsänen more than 20 years ago, was also found guilty because of the decades-old pamphlet.

The pamphlet was initially discovered during a separate police investigation that began in 2019 in response to criminal complaints Räsänen faced for her tweet that year that cited Romans 1:24–27 to rebuke the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland for promoting LGBT pride events.

The grandmother of 12 was consequently dragged into court multiple times over six years and acquitted twice by lower courts. The Finnish Supreme Court acquitted Räsänen on the initial tweet that launched her ordeal, ruling she was not guilty of hate speech because the tweet justified her view by citing a biblical text.

Räsänen's appeal to the ECHR comes as her case has drawn high-profile attention and free speech concerns throughout the world, including from the U.S. State Department.

"I know I am not alone in facing unjust persecution under 'hate speech' laws that make sharing Christian beliefs a criminal offense," Räsänen said. "I make my appeal in the hope that the European Court of Human Rights will recognize that peacefully expressing one's beliefs is never a crime, and ensure that this basic freedom is protected for all."

Räsänen has been using her situation to warn about the encroaching threats to free speech in the Western world under the guise of tolerance. During a recent interview with The Christian Post, she framed her guilty verdict as an example of an attempt by those in power to chill the speech of other Christians who might speak out against sexual immorality.

Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen appeals guilty verdict to ECHR | World

'Religious discrimination': Greg Abbott threatens to pull state funding from Texas city over Islamic event

 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is threatening to pull over $500,000 in state funding from a Dallas suburb if it moves forward with a private, Muslim-centric event next month that will require a “modest” dress code, including “burkinis” for women.

The third-annual DFW Eid Celebration, set for June 1 at Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark in Grand Prairie, a suburb of Dallas, will require both male and female attendees to adhere to a dress code and other rules, including “respectful behavior such as maintaining personal space and lowering the gaze.”

In addition to providing halal cuisine — food that is allowed under Islamic law — a flyer for the DFW Eid Celebration also promises a private prayer room and a “respectful environment” for attendees to mark the Islamic holiday.

The “What to Wear” section of the event website features suggestions for “stylish water outfit inspiration” with links to several Islamic-style bathing suits — including burkini outfits with full head and leg coverings — on websites like Amazon and Temu.

Texas Gov. threatens to pull funding over waterpark event | U.S.

Trump's week in review: Third assassination attempt, IRA retirement accounts, King Charles' state visit

 This week was marked by high-stakes developments at home and abroad, including a third brazen assassination attempt against President Donald Trump, the end of a partial government shutdown that stretched more than two months, and a new U.S. Department of Justice report detailing alleged anti-Christian bias during the Biden administration. Trump also met with King Charles III of the United Kingdom.

Here are five highlights from this week. 

Trump's week in review: WHCA shooting, King Charles' state visit | Politics