Supreme Court denies petition from Florida city to toss atheists' First Amendment suit over prayer vigil
Fox News
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed atheists a temporary win by rejecting a the City of Ocala, Florida's request to toss a lawsuit over a prayer vigil.
The case concerns two individuals, Lucinda Hale and Art Rojas, who are members of the American Humanist Association. Hale and Rojas have accused Ocala of violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment after police organized a prayer vigil with local religious leaders in response to a 2014 shooting in which several children were injured. Court documents said police chaplains were praying and singing on stage while in uniform. Chris Pandolfo is a writer for Fox News Digital. Send tips to chris.pandolfo@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.
The atheists claimed that the religious elements of the prayer vigil were offensive and made them feel excluded. The district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit held that the atheists had standing to sue.
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