Three people who sued the city of Moscow for allegedly violating their First Amendment rights during a 2020 religious gathering will be paid a total of $300,000 to settle their civil lawsuit.
Gabriel Rench and Sean and Rachel Bohnet had sued the city over an incident in September 2020, when they were part of a Christ Church event at the Moscow City Hall parking lot. The “psalm sing” was intended to be a protest of the city’s mandate for masks and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moscow police cited Rench, the Bohnets and two others for suspicion of violating the city’s public health emergency order.
According to the Lewiston Tribune, the city dismissed the charges in January 2021 because the public health order, while intended to apply to all people in the city, did not specifically say it applied to speech, press, assembly and/or religious activity protected by the Idaho and U.S. constitutions.
According to the city’s news release, the Idaho Counties Risk Management Program determined that a financial settlement in the case was the best course of action to dispose of the suit and avoid a protracted litigation proceeding. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the progrm will pay a total settlement amount of $300,000 and all claims against the City and the named City employees will be dismissed with prejudice along with a release of all liability.
