U.S. Justice Department sues small Idaho town. The reason? A church
The U.S. Justice Department filed a religious liberty lawsuit against the town of Troy in Latah County on Tuesday, saying that the denial of a permit for Christ Church’s proposed move was unlawful.
Troy denied the church a conditional use permit — it was seeking a new location because it outgrew its old one — and cited the public’s being “heavily against” the move, according to a release from the Justice Department. Christ Church applied to operate in the city’s C-1 zoning district, where Troy officials previously allowed clubs, museums and art galleries to operate, federal officials said.
Christ Church wanted to host weekly church services in Ye Olde Bank Event Center on Main Street in Troy, according to reporting from the Moscow-Pullman Daily News. The event center is owned by a Christ Church elder, according to the newspaper.
Despite the permit being denied, Christ Church began to meet in the event center for worship services and has continued to do so, according to the Daily News.
The federal lawsuit alleges that Troy violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), a federal law protecting individuals and religious institutions from unequal or discriminatory land use regulations.
“RLUIPA unequivocally forbids local governments from deciding zoning matters based on their dislike of certain religious groups,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a news release.
The Justice Department also alleges that Troy’s denial of the permit “imposed a substantial burden,” and the decision was based on the “community’s discriminatory animus against the church.”
In March, the Troy City Council said that it had fears over parking and traffic, and that church gatherings would affect commercial growth in the downtown area. The council also cited the Idaho Code, which does not allow a company to own a liquor license within 300 feet of any public school, church or place of worship.
Troy is just 12 miles east of Moscow and has a population barely exceeding 900. Moscow is home to Christ Church, whose stated mission is “to make Moscow a Christian town” and whose leaders back a theocracy.
The church caused controversy during the COVID pandemic by publicly protesting health care precautions, such as mask mandates. Its website includes a section titled “Principles for Health Care Choices in Christian Community.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ties to Christ Church as a member of a Tennessee congregation affiliated with the church.
This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 4:31 PM.
