MITCHELL, SD (Mitchell Now) Gov. Larry Rhoden on Friday announced legislation that would make disrupting a religious service a felony in South Dakota, arguing the change is needed to deter protests interfering with worship.
Senate Bill 113 would elevate an existing misdemeanor offense to a felony when a person intentionally targets a house of worship. Disrupting a religious service is already illegal under state law.
Why it matters
Supporters of the bill say it is a preventative step meant to safeguard religious freedom amid rising national tensions, while critics and legal observers question whether the current law is sufficient and whether the recent incident cited by state leaders rises to the level described.
Rhoden pointed to a recent protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, as evidence of a growing threat to worship services.
“Just last week, religious freedom came under assault just a few hundred miles from here in the Twin Cities,” Rhoden said. (0:35–1:12)
The Minnesota incident occurred Jan. 18 at Cities Church in St. Paul, where protesters entered a Sunday worship service and briefly disrupted it with chants opposing federal immigration enforcement, according to reporting by MPR News and the Associated Press. The demonstrators targeted the church because one of its leaders also works as a regional official for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Reporting shows the disruption lasted several minutes and did not involve physical violence or threats. Some congregants left early, and authorities made arrests later, following a federal review rather than at the scene. The U.S. Department of Justice has since filed civil rights charges against several participants.
Even so, Republican legislative leaders said the episode illustrates how quickly worship services can become targets and argued South Dakota should act before a similar disruption occurs here.
“South Dakota has a tradition of respecting places of worship,” said Sen. Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls.
During the news conference, reporters pressed state leaders on how broadly the felony provision could apply.
“That would be a matter of common sense and prosecutorial discretion,” Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen said.
House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, said the legislation is meant to draw a firm line between protected speech and interference with worship.
“If you’re coming there to do communist agitation, then the law in South Dakota is going to be there to bring you to justice,” Odenbach said.
Legislators formally introduced SB 113 on Thursday, and they expect a committee hearing later this legislative session.
One side note: House Speaker Jon Hansen was also in attendance at the news conference, putting two of the four GOP gubernatorial candidates in the same room, agreeing with the issue.