Pastors Reach Massive Settlement Following Criminal Charges

In a blatant attack on religious liberty, Christian pastors in Colorado were criminally charged for feeding the homeless. For nearly a year, the ACLJ has stood alongside these pastors and church members of three Colorado churches as they fought for their right to gather for worship, fellowship, and religious outreach in a Northglenn, Colorado, public park. Now we are pleased to report the parties have reached a settlement agreement, and our clients can now continue ministering to the public.

You hear about these big cases that we take on, particularly at the U.S. Supreme Court. You hear about all the work that we’re doing internationally, whether that’s in Pakistan or in Israel through our ACLJ Jerusalem office. They can seem almost too big or beyond your local scope.

But don’t ever overlook what’s going on in your own backyard – or in some cases, in your own local public park, such as the settlement we just reached in Colorado.

This group of pastors from local churches met in a public park in Northglenn, Colorado, not only to worship but also to minister to the homeless. They had been doing this without incident since 2020, until in 2025, an ordinance was passed making it illegal for groups of more than five to recurrently use the park. And guess what happened next – the pastors and members of these churches were criminally cited for continuing this ministry in a public park.

As we previously reported:

The chief of police informed the pastors he had been “tasked with shutting down” their weekly gatherings. City officials called a private meeting with representatives from the churches and made the city’s position clear: They liked what the churches were doing, but they couldn’t do it in Northglenn. The city’s objection wasn’t to the size of the gatherings or any actual disruption. Their objection was to who the churches were serving and why they were doing it – because of their religious conviction to follow Christ’s command to serve “the least of these.”

When we learned of this, the ACLJ quickly jumped into action, not only to defend the individuals involved from these criminal citations, but also to file a federal lawsuit, highlighting multiple sections of this ordinance that were unconstitutional.

And finally, after two months, the criminal charges against our clients were dropped. And as our lawsuit neared the discovery phase, the city agreed to a settlement, allowing our clients to continue their ministry in this public park without fear of criminal citation.

As part of the agreement, the city repealed the ordinance we said was unconstitutional for targeting churches, and replaced it with a new proposed ordinance that still gives the city authority and the appropriate measures to keep people safe in its public parks, as is the city’s responsibility. At the same time the proposed ordinance doesn’t discriminate against churches or people or faith, and it allows our clients to continue this essential ministry.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included more analysis of the settlement reached in our Colorado case. We were also joined by Special Presidential Envoy Ric Grenell to discuss embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ curious decision to step down from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Commission as a House panel begins to investigate the commission for fraud.

Watch the full broadcast below: