Thread by @LukeWGoodrich

#BREAKING: A federal court has thrown out criminal convictions of four volunteers who left food and water in the desert for migrants at risk of death. The court said prosecuting them violated #RFRA--a major victory for #ReligiousFreedom! 1/ s3.amazonaws.com/becketnewsite/…

Fueled by faith, these volunteers traveled to the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, where migrant deaths are common, placing food & water along foot trails to prevent future deaths. 32 sets of human remains were recovered from this area in 2017 alone. 2/ credit: Google

Proving no good deed goes unpunished, the government criminally prosecuted the volunteers for entering the refuge & “abandoning property” (i.e., food & water) without a permit (even though no permit would allow them to leave food or water for migrants anyways). #Kafkaesque 3/

In defense, the volunteers relied on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act--the same law that protected Hobby Lobby, the Little Sisters of the Poor, and many others. (More on RFRA here: becketlaw.org/research-centr…). 4/

Yesterday, a federal court threw out their convictions. The court began by emphasizing that RFRA provides “very broad protection for religious liberty”--citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Hobby Lobby: 5/

Next, the court said that prosecuting the volunteers “substantially burdened” their religious exercise by pressuring them to abandon their religiously motivated conduct--again citing Hobby Lobby: 6/

Finally, the court said the government failed to prove that the prosecution was necessary, particularly given the amount of activity the government already allows on the refuge--again citing (you guessed it) Hobby Lobby: 7/

This is now the second time in 3 months a court has thrown out a prosecution of humanitarian aid volunteers on religious freedom grounds. The other was Dr. Warren’s case, in which @BECKETlaw helped craft the legal arguments under #RFRA: 8/
becketlaw.org/case/united-st…

@BECKETlaw There are several important lessons here: First, this was a foolish prosecution. Giving water to those who thirst is not a crime. Just consult Matthew 25:35 and common sense. 9/

@BECKETlaw Second, laws like RFRA are essential for religious freedom. It was undisputed in this case that the volunteers committed the “crime.” Their only protection was RFRA. 10/

@BECKETlaw Third, religious freedom isn't partisan. Sometimes it may look "conservative" (Hobby Lobby) or "progressive" (this case). But the core principle is bipartisan. Every human being has a thirst for the transcendent, and the government (under both parties) must respect that. 11/

@BECKETlaw Finally, laws like RFRA make society more compassionate. Religion fuels works of service--by these volunteers, by the Little Sisters of the Poor, by others. And religious freedom ensures that they remain #FreeToServe. 12/

@BECKETlaw More on this in my new book, Free to Believe--explaining why religious freedom matters, how it’s threatened, and how to protect it: /fin
amzn.to/3bcNO92

@BECKETlaw Kudos to @NoMoreDeaths--important ruling for those caring for migrants.
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