The Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC) and co-counsel True North Legal (TNL) have filed an appeal to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals of the United States District Court’s decision yesterday to deny the motion for a preliminary injunction in their case to reinstate Plaintiff Anthony Schmitt’s highly successful Christian rehabilitation program at the Minnesota Correctional Facility – St. Cloud. UMLC argues that this termination has unjustly deprived prisoners of a proven and transformative resource solely because of the DOC’s ideological opposition to normal Christian beliefs which have existed for millennia.
For over a decade, the entirely voluntary program led by plaintiff Anthony Schmitt and his team provided a lifeline for male inmates, helping them to rehabilitate and reintegrate into society by teaching principles of authentic manhood through Christian teachings. The program’s success is undeniable. It graduated more than a thousand inmates, and scores of inmates reported restored family relationships, resolved personal conflicts, and significant personal growth as a result of their participation.
However, in July 2023, the DOC abruptly canceled the program, citing its “direct conflict with the diversity, equity, and inclusivity values of the DOC” because it defined manhood through a “biblical lens.” This decision was conveyed to Schmitt in an email from DOC Assistant Commissioner Jolene Rebertus, effectively ending a program that had become a cornerstone of inmate rehabilitation in the facility.
Schmitt argues that the DOC’s actions are not only discriminatory but also a blatant violation of his First Amendment rights as well as the rights of the inmates. By terminating the program, the DOC has deprived prisoners of a critical rehabilitative service based solely on ideological opposition to its Christian foundation.
“The DOC has sacrificed the well-being of prisoners on the altar of left-wing secular religion. This program was not just successful—it was life-changing for the inmates who participated. Canceling it because it is rooted in Christian beliefs is a grave injustice.” said James Dickey, Senior Counsel at UMLC. “It is absurd that the DOC is openly discriminating against mainstream views of human sexuality shared across every major theistic faith tradition. We are committed to seeing this case through at the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to restore this vital resource to the prisoners who desperately need it as soon as possible.”
“If the DOC and the Walz administration are truly committed to ‘freedom,’ as they claim, then Minnesota inmates deserve the freedom to choose to engage in a voluntary faith-based program that has set many inmates on a path to recovery,” said Renee Carlson, General Counsel at True North Legal. “The DOC’s actions are standing in the way of that freedom, denying inmates access to a program with proven results because the program is founded in principles consistent with millennia of Christian tradition and does not conform to secular government religion of the day.”
UMLC and TNL are seeking declarations from the courts that the DOC’s actions violate the federal and Minnesota constitutions and are demanding the reinstatement of the Christian rehabilitation program.
Click here to view the decision on the motion for a preliminary injunction from the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.
Click here to view UMLC and TNL’s appeal.
