Minnesota city sued for demanding Christian preacher pay vendor fee to hold pro-life sign

A Minnesota municipality faces a federal civil rights lawsuit after police charged an open-air Christian preacher with criminal trespassing for standing in a public parking lot.

The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday by the Center for American Liberty on behalf of Bryan Conwell, accused officials of placing an unconstitutional "price tag" on free speech by forcing a peaceful speaker to buy a commercial license.

"The First Amendment doesn't come with a price tag," Mark Trammell, CEO of the Center for American Liberty, said in a statement.

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"Government officials cannot force Americans to buy a license before they peacefully express their beliefs on public property. If they can silence Bryan today, they can silence anyone tomorrow," he added.

Fox News Digital reached out to the City of Benson for comment but did not immediately hear back.

The lawsuit, filed against the City of Benson, Minnesota, claims that city police and officials violated the constitutional rights of Conwell, an open-air street preacher and vocal advocate against abortion.

Lawsuit documents given to Fox News Digital explain that Conwell regularly holds signs in a public place and waits silently, speaking only to those who approach him and engage in conversation. The lawsuit stipulates he "blocks no one, threatens no one, and sells nothing. He asks only to be left alone to speak."

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It continues to explain that when Conwell chose to stand in a city parking lot during a farmers' market event, one that is free and open to the public, city officials and police asked that he leave or pay a $20 fee to speak. The lawsuit claims they asserted "exclusive use" of the public property.

When Conwell refused to pay a vendor fee for non-commercial speech, police cited him for criminal trespass on July 9, and issued a second citation when he returned on July 16. Conwell now faces up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine for each citation.

Officer interactions captured on video, and referenced in the lawsuit, show police warned Conwell that his legal woes would worsen if he continued. 

"The more you come back, the more citations you're going to get," an officer told him.

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Video provided to Fox News Digital by the Center for American Liberty shows Conwell speaking to police while holding a sign reading "Abolish Abortion to the Glory of God." In the clip, he can be heard questioning why his activism is a problem, noting he did the same thing the week prior.

"Well, legally I can be here and that's the whole thing, and so, I can't be cited. So, unless there's a crime being committed, why am I being cited?" Conwell asks in the video.

The lawsuit also cites a conversation between Conwell and an officer, one who wrote him the ticket, where the officer expresses confusion over enforcing the town's policy against protected speech.

"To be honest, man, I want clarification too," the officer told Conwell, according to court filings. "There are crimes of trespassing and crimes of disorderly conduct, but also you have your First Amendment right, so we've got to try to figure that out... I know what you're doing, I get it. I'm glad someone is out here doing it."

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The lawsuit alleges these actions constitute severe First Amendment violations, including infringement on freedom of speech, the free exercise of religion, viewpoint discrimination, and unconstitutional fees on speech.

Conwell’s lawsuit comes amid a broader push by lawmakers and legal groups to protect street preachers from police overreach. Earlier this month, Congressional Republicans urged the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a similar case involving Richard Hershey, a Christian evangelist who was threatened with arrest in 2020 for handing out pamphlets on a public sidewalk in Louisiana.