ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: tuesday, JANUARY 20, 2026
CONTACT: NICOLE VELASCO
media@FAITH-FREEDOM.COM
Washington D.C. — As Advocates for Faith & Freedom and the American Center for Law & Justice ask the United States Supreme Court to reverse California’s $3 million of fines and attorneys’ fees against Calvary Chapel San Jose for their religious worship, seven amicus curiae briefs have now been filed in support of position. The seven briefs urge the Court to take the case.
Most notably, the State of West Virginia, joined by 19 additional states, has stepped forward signaling the high stakes and national implications of our case. Our First Amendment freedoms hang in the balance, and our case demonstrates the real dangers of unchecked government power over the Church.
The amici make clear that this case reaches far beyond one congregation or one state. They warn that if massive financial penalties for worship are allowed to stand, government officials will be emboldened to use economic coercion to force churches into submission whenever an “emergency” is declared.
“This is not about pandemic policy. It is about whether the First Amendment has any force to protect a churches worship services when a government claims emergency powers,” said Robert Tyler, President and Chief Counsel for Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “A government that can fine a church into submission can silence any church.”
The briefs underscore that California defied Supreme Court precedent, imposed ruinous fines, and treated religious worship worse than comparable secular activity. Without Supreme Court intervention, that dangerous precedent will remain.
The Court will now decide whether it will step in to halt the weaponization of government power against churches and reaffirm that constitutional rights do not disappear in times of crisis.
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Advocates for Faith & Freedom is a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting constitutional and religious liberty in the courts. Our mission is to engage in cases that will uphold our religious liberty and America’s heritage and to educate Americans about our fundamental constitutional rights.