Two-Time Offending Senior Community Bans the Christmas Nativity: ACLJ Files Federal Complaint

The ACLJ is taking significant legal action after a Nebraska senior living community violated federal law by refusing to correct its unconstitutional ban on Christian Christmas decorations.

Because management at Millard Manor Senior Apartments in Omaha refused to comply with our demand letter to stop discriminating against Christian residents, we just filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This marks a significant escalation in our fight to defend the constitutional rights of seniors who had their right to celebrate their Christian faith stolen from them.

As we previously reported, just days before Christmas, residents were ordered to remove Nativity scenes and angels from common-area decorations. This wasn’t a misunderstanding of policy. It was an intentional decision to remove Christian symbols from the space while leaving secular decorations untouched.

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What makes this case particularly troubling is that this is not the first time this property has crossed the line. The ACLJ successfully intervened at this same complex in 2024 when management illegally barred a Bible study. We resolved that dispute and made clear that the law protects religious expression in senior housing. Yet with new management in place, the old habits have returned, and residents of faith are once again being treated as though the law works against them rather than for them.

Federal law is clear on this point. The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination based on religion. Receiving government housing assistance does not strip residents of constitutional protections or give property owners an excuse to censor religious expression. If snowmen, Santa Claus, and garland are acceptable, so are Nativity figures and angels – equal treatment is not optional. HUD itself has repeatedly affirmed that residents in federally assisted housing retain their right to express and display their faith. Property managers cannot misstate the law and hide behind fictional compliance obligations.

Our filing documents outline what occurred – the removal of religious displays while secular ones remained, the false legal excuses offered to residents, and the refusal to allow Christian expression on equal terms.

HUD has the authority to investigate and enforce the Fair Housing Act, and we are urging them to do exactly that.

But ultimately, this case is about far more than Christmas decorations. It’s about whether seniors – many of whom have lived their faith out their entire lives – can continue to do so in the place they call home. Across the country, we are seeing similar efforts to push religion out of shared spaces in the name of “neutrality,” even when the law requires equal access and equal treatment. Too often, residents don’t know their rights, and they feel powerless to push back.

That’s why the ACLJ does what it does. We stand in the gap when government officials, corporate landlords, or property managers try to make people choose between their homes and their beliefs. We have prevailed in religious discrimination cases like this before, and we intend to do so again here. Whether through demand letters, HUD enforcement, or, if necessary, federal litigation, we will not let this community – or any other – get away with scrubbing faith out of public view.

We need your support in this critical fight. Add your name to our petition: Defeat the War on Christians. Your voice matters, and together we can ensure that religious liberty remains protected for all Americans, including our nation’s seniors.