Federal law makes it a crime to block access to worship.
H.R. 10052 — Right to Worship Act · Filed by Brad Knott (R-NC) · 28 cosponsors · Introduced Aug 6, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill makes it a federal crime to disrupt or block people from going to worship. This applies within 100 feet of the building. The protected time is one hour before and after services. People who break this law pay fines of $2,500 for a first break. Repeat breaks cost up to $10,000. Houses of worship can also sue people for up to $5,000 per break, plus lawyer fees. The bill does not stop lawful speech or permits.
Who it affects
The bill protects people who want to go to worship without being blocked or scared. It also affects people who want to protest near worship buildings during service times. Groups that protest near worship buildings could face federal fines and lawsuits.
One thing to notice
The law uses 'reasonably should be aware' to decide if someone broke it. This phrase is unclear and could catch calm protesters who do not block the door.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
28 cosponsors: 15 Republicans, 13 Democrats.
- Aug 6, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Aug 6, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- disrupt — to interrupt or stop something from happening the normal way
- fines — money a person must pay as a penalty
- reasonably should be aware — what a normal person would know or understand about a situation
- protest — to speak out or gather against something a person thinks is wrong
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (6,515 characters) on Aug 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,778 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-11-02.
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