A new bill, supported by leadership in both statehouses and Gov. Larry Rhoden would make disrupting a house of worship with threats of violence a felony-level offense.
This comes after an ICE protest at a St. Paul church led to several arrests and garnered national headlines.
“Just last week, religious freedom came under assault just a few hundred miles from here in the Twin Cities," Rhoden said. "That should trouble every single American, and it certainly troubled me.”
A priest in attendance of the bill announcement said he supports the use of the bill for all houses of worship across the state, regardless of the faith practiced.
However, the proposal has question marks attached. One being the definition of “disrupt.” Rhoden and Lt. Gov Tony Venhuizen call it “common sense.”
“That would be prosecutorial discretion," Venhuizen said. "We don’t have prosecutors in South Dakota looking to overcharge some kid with something that’s clearly not within the meaning of the law. That would be how that is handled.”
The decision to interpret this law, if passed, would fall solely into the hands of the state’s prosecutors.