Idaho college town to pay $300,000 to Christians arrested for having an outdoor church service

The three churchgoers were charged with violating Moscow's public health emergency ordinance during the pandemic.

Published: July 22, 2023 11:44am

A progressive college town in Idaho agreed to pay $300,000 to a group of Christians who were arrested for having an outdoor church service without masks during the COVID19 pandemic.

Moscow, Idaho announced the settlement last week, according to the Idaho State Journal.

In March 2021, a group of three Christians with Christ Church sued the city after they were arrested for singing outside their church in 2020 with no masks on.

They were detained at the jail for hours, according to The Daily Wire.

Gabriel Rench and Sean and Rachel Bohnet were charged with violating Moscow's public health emergency ordinance.

Rench was a candidate for Latah County Commission at the time of his arrest.

“It’s actually the city of Moscow that was defying the law,” Rench said during a Fox News interview. “I was obeying the law. The political system doesn’t want to give away their power, and they think if they admit they’re wrong, they look at that as like they’re losing their political power.”