Freedom Updates
Advocates in Action
PRESS RELEASE | SANTA CLARA COUNTY EMPLOYEES SECURE FAVORABLE SETTLEMENT AFTER FOUR-YEAR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY FIGHT
ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCTOBER 14, 2026
CONTACT: NICOLE VELASCO AT
MEDIA@FAITH-FREEDOM.COM
Murrieta, CA — After more than four years of litigation, Advocates for Faith & Freedom, together with Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP, has secured a favorable settlement on behalf of Santa Clara County employees who challenged the County’s treatment of workers with sincerely held religious objections to its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The case began in 2022 after County employees who had received religious exemptions from the vaccine requirement were nevertheless prevented from continuing to work in positions the County classified as high risk. The employees challenged the County’s refusal to provide reasonable accommodations that would have allowed them to continue working while adhering to their religious convictions.
“This was a long and difficult fight, and our clients remained steadfast throughout it,” said Sam Kane, Senior Legal Counsel for Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “They should never have been forced to choose between their sincerely held religious beliefs and their livelihoods. We are grateful to have reached a favorable resolution that recognizes what they endured and brings this years-long litigation to a close.”
Throughout the case, Advocates and Wolf Haldenstein challenged the County’s accommodation policies and defended the employees’ rights under federal law. The litigation continued through extensive discovery, class proceedings, dispositive motions, and preparation for trial before the parties ultimately reached a settlement.
“Our clients showed tremendous resolve in pursuing this case,” said Rachele Byrd of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP. “They stood by their convictions through years of complex litigation, and we are pleased to have secured a favorable settlement that provides meaningful relief and allows them to finally move forward.”
The case is another reminder that religious liberty protections matter most when exercising one’s faith comes at a real personal or professional cost. “Religious freedom cannot exist only when it is convenient,” Kane added. “When government policies place people in the position of choosing between their faith and their careers, those rights must be defended. We were honored to stand alongside these employees.”
PRESS RELEASE | SAN DIEGO MAYOR PUNISHES PASTOR FOR CHRISTIAN BELIEFS, CASE HEADS TO U.S. SUPREME COURT
Advocates for Faith & Freedom asks the nation’s highest court to protect religious expression and prevent government officials from imposing ideological tests on public service.
ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2026
CONTACT: NICOLE VELASCO AT
MEDIA@FAITH-FREEDOM.COM
Washington, D.C. — Advocates for Faith & Freedom has filed a petition with the United States Supreme Court on behalf of Pastor Dennis Hodges, a longtime public servant who was denied reappointment to a San Diego advisory board because of his Christian beliefs about human sexuality.
The case raises a fundamental constitutional question: Can government officials exclude Americans from public service simply because they disagree with their religious convictions?
Hodges dedicated decades to public service as a California Department of Corrections captain and special agent, San Diego Police Department chaplain, and volunteer member of the City’s Citizens Advisory Board on Police/Community Relations.
In 2021, while serving on the separate San Diego County Human Relations Commission, Hodges abstained from voting on an initiative to amplify transgender voices, citing his belief that God created human beings male and female. He also affirmed that all people deserve love and respect.
Nearly two years later, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria vetoed Hodges’s reappointment to the City’s police advisory board because of his sincerely held Christian beliefs. Hodges had not voted against the initiative. Rather, he chose to abstain out of respect for his religious convictions while remaining fair and impartial. Despite his measured approach, the Mayor used his expression of faith as grounds to deny him continued public service.
Advocates challenged the Mayor’s actions as violations of Hodges’s First Amendment rights. However, the district court dismissed the case, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision in February 2026.
Now, Advocates is asking the Supreme Court to intervene, warning that the ruling opens the door for government officials to impose religious and ideological tests on Americans seeking to serve their communities.
Significantly, Judge J. Campbell Barker, concurring in the Ninth Circuit’s decision, questioned whether the court’s approach was consistent with Supreme Court precedent and identified a conflict among federal appellate courts.
“Pastor Hodges was punished for expressing Christian beliefs that had nothing to do with his ability to serve,” said Joel Oster, Vice President and Chief of Trial Litigation for Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “If this ruling stands, government officials could effectively silence religious viewpoints by declaring them politically unacceptable. The First Amendment does not exist only for those whose beliefs align with the government.”
“This case is about far more than one pastor or one city,” said Robert Tyler, President and Chief Counsel of Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “It is about whether the government can demand ideological conformity as the price of public service.” The petition asks the Supreme Court to reaffirm that public service cannot come at the expense of religious freedom and free speech.
PRESS RELEASE | AMENDED LAWSUIT: GWU ALLOWED ANTISEMITISM TO FESTER WHILE JEWISH STUDENTS FACED THREATS, HARASSMENT, AND EXCLUSION
Federal lawsuit details years of alleged discrimination as University repeatedly failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students
ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2026
CONTACT: NICOLE VELASCO AT
MEDIA@FAITH-FREEDOM.COM
Washington, D.C. — Advocates for Faith & Freedom has filed a First Amended Complaint against The George Washington University, detailing a years-long pattern of antisemitic discrimination, intimidation, and harassment against Jewish and Israeli students.
The complaint details how Jewish students were threatened, physically harassed, blocked from classrooms and campus facilities, intimidated into concealing their Jewish identity, and denied equal access to educational opportunities, even as students, parents, and advocates repeatedly alerted GWU administrators to the rampant antisemitism. Despite those warnings, the complaint alleges the hostility continued.
After conducting an investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division concluded that GWU was “deliberately indifferent to the complaints it received, the misconduct that occurred, and the harms that were suffered by its students and faculty, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
“This case is about equal protection,” said Joel Oster, Vice President and Chief of Trial Litigation of Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “A university cannot promise nondiscrimination and then look the other way while Jewish students are threatened, intimidated, and driven from classrooms and common areas because of their Jewish heritage. Civil rights laws exist precisely to ensure that students are not forced to endure that kind of treatment because of who they are.”
During the Spring 2024 encampment, protesters displayed or shouted messages including “final solution,” “Globalize the Intifada,” “Hamas are freedom fighters,” and “Zionist, go die.” Protesters broke through barricades, occupied University Yard, obstructed access to campus, and posted warnings including “No Zionists.”
The amended complaint further alleges that antisemitism extended beyond campus protests and into University-sponsored programming and classrooms, where pro-Israel and Zionist perspectives were marginalized or excluded. Plaintiffs allege that despite repeated complaints and federal scrutiny, discriminatory treatment continued.
“Jewish students should never have to hide their identity, avoid parts of campus, or remain silent in class because they fear for their safety,” said Erin Mersino, Vice President and Chief of Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation at Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “Universities have a legal obligation to apply their protections equally. When they fail to do so, they must be held accountable.”
The lawsuit asserts claims under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the District of Columbia Human Rights Act, and breach of contract. Plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief requiring GWU to enforce its nondiscrimination and conduct policies evenhandedly, address antisemitism on campus, and implement meaningful accountability measures.