Christian Defense Coalition director Rev. Patrick Mahoney has been denied a permit to hold a prayer service at the U.S. Capitol during the National Day of Prayer on Thursday May 6, 2021. The U.S. Capitol building has been closed to the public since the day protestors breached the doors of the building back in January 2021, an incident that left five people dead and over 140 injured.
Rev. Patrick Mahoney: ‘Deeply Troubling’
Rev. Patrick Mahoney said, “For 70 years, there has been a public witness on the National Day of Prayer at the U.S. Capitol Building. Until today! Our request to have prayer service was denied.” He asked for people to pray for God’s wisdom moving forward.
Charisma News posted a statement given by Rev. Mahoney regarding the current denial for observing the National Day of Prayer 2021 on the U.S. Capitol grounds:
It is deeply troubling for the first time in 70 years, there will not be a public prayer service at the United States Capitol Building on the National Day of Prayer. Every American needs to be asking the question, “How is it possible to have public prayer prohibited at the Capitol on the National Day of Prayer?”—especially when it is a national observance designated by Congress. The “People’s House,” as the U.S. Capitol Building is so rightly called, must be a place where all Americans are afforded the right to come and peacefully celebrate and express their First Amendment rights. Tragically, those rights and freedoms are being denied and prohibited. I will continue to work to ensure the “People’s House” is returned to the people and the First Amendment is once again celebrated and honored at the United States Capitol.
This isn’t the first time this year Mahoney has been denied prayer on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. On March 27, 2021, Rev. Mahoney posted on his Facebook page letting his followers know that for the first time in 30 years they had been denied the right to pray at the U.S. Capitol. Mahoney setup a GoFundMe account for those willing to give financially so he could fight them in court.
After filing the lawsuit, Rev. Mahoney told Fox News that he believes “free speech is in danger all across America.” Discussing the suit during a Fox & Friends broadcast, he told co-host Ainsley Earnhardt, “There’s a misconception out there that many people think the Capitol is closed, and it’s not.” Rev. Mahoney cited the fact that members are voting, and other workers are allowed inside the U.S. Capitol building; therefore the only thing closed on the grounds are “peaceful First Amendment activities.”
“A Washington, D.C. federal court DENIED our right to have a Good Friday Service on the lower western terrace of the U.S. Capitol Building,” Rev. Mahoney posted after the lawsuit was heard. The reverend however let his followers know they would continue to “press on to open the ‘People’s House!’”
Rev. Patrick Mahoney is also known for his campaigning for the life of terminally ill baby Charlie Gard of the U.K. in 2017. ChurchLeaders.com reached out to Rev. Patrick Mahoney, but has not received a response as of the posting of this article.