Church Sues Ohio City, Officials in Case of Pastor Facing Criminal Charges for Helping Homeless

A Christian church in Bryan, Ohio has sued the city and several city officials for trying to shut down the church’s religious activities. Its pastor is reportedly facing criminal charges for violating zoning laws by keeping his doors open to help the poor and others in his community.  

On Monday, First Liberty Institute and the law firms Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP and Spengler Nathanson PLL filed the federal lawsuit and motion for a temporary restraining order against city officials seeking to shut down the religious activities of Dad’s Place Church and Pastor Chris Avell.  

The 82-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio alleges the “targeted” use of zoning codes and other city ordinances against the church violates the church’s rights “under the Free Exercise Clause and Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”), the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”), and the Rights of Conscience clause of the Ohio Constitution.”

“The Church accordingly seeks equitable relief and damages to prevent the City from violating its fundamental rights to pursue its religious outreach to some of the most vulnerable members

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