Welcome to the Napa Legal Podcast, where we discuss religious liberty from the perspective of faith-based nonprofits. In this week's episode, Frank DeVito and Joseph Clement explain the free speech rights of church leaders, censorship of Christian beliefs, and victory for a pro-life advocate.

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In this episode, we discuss:

1:47 A federal court recently dismissed an attempt to protect the ability of churches to make statements about political candidates. The Johnson Amendment bans certain nonprofit organizations from endorsing candidates for office. While the current administration has limited its enforcement, it remains on the books. A lawsuit seeking to declare it unconstitutional was dismissed and is expected to be appealed.

9:59 A social worker in Oregon was fired after he put up several books in his office that affirmed the reality of God-given sex. He filed a lawsuit based on his rights to Free Speech and Free Exercise. We discuss the purpose of free speech in America, especially in light of recent developments on both sides of the political aisle.

25:54 A pro-life advocate was awarded over $1 million from the DOJ after a wrongful arrest by the Biden administration under the FACE Act. Mark Houck was arrested at gunpoint after protecting his 12-year-old son from a 72-year-old abortion escort while praying outside of an abortion clinic. He was acquitted of the charges in 2023; following the acquittal, Houck filed suit against the DOJ for malicious and retaliatory prosecution. He recently settled for one million dollars.