XPost: alt.new-hampshire, alt.christnet.christianlife, alt.politics.republicans XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, sac.politics
Weare, N.H., is a small town with about 9,000 residents. Among them is
Howard Kaloogian, the owner of a five-acre rural property. On that
property sits a red barn, and over the years, Kaloogian has hosted various events there, like weddings, dances, game tournaments, and small rallies
for political candidates. He even once hosted Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Many
of these events are advertised throughout town. They are not held in
secret.
In 2023, Kaloogian, who is a pastor, decided to make further use of his
barn and began holding church services there. He added a few pews, a
pulpit, and some heaters, and each Sunday, no more than 30 people gathered
to worship and share their faith. He called it Grace New England.
Suddenly, the town of Weare — the town that had never had a problem with Kaloogian hosting secular activities that often attracted more than 30
people — decided to shut him down.
Court documents show that the local planning board gave Kaloogian
permission to use the barn for any "lawful purpose," as long as he didn't charge people to attend. He never has, and he certainly didn't start
charging his tiny congregation.
But when Weare's zoning officer, Tony Sawyer, found out that Kaloogian was hosting church services, he personally "showed up at Kaloogian’s front
door and told him he could no longer use any part of his home, including
the barn, for religious assemblies. The barn was zoned
residential—assemblies constitute a 'change in use,' and Kaloogian would
be required to complete a site plan application and seek a conditional use permit (which Sawyer said would most likely be denied)."
Here's more about the visit from the court documents:
During his August 2023 visit, Mr. Sawyer informed Pastor Kaloogian that
for the Church to continue meeting, he would need a conditional use
permit, although he indicated it was unlikely to be approved.
While at the home, Mr. Sawyer provided Pastor Kaloogian with a form
entitled 'Planning Board Application for Conceptual or Design Review.' He requested that Pastor Kaloogian submit it to get on the agenda for an
upcoming Planning Board meeting. Pastor Kaloogian offered to fill out the
form while they talked, but Mr. Sawyer declined.
Mr. Sawyer stated during this visit that his own father is a pastor, but
that he is an atheist, although he volunteered that his beliefs would have
no bearing on the situation. Mr. Sawyer said that he did not want to get attorneys involved formally at that time.
Later that day, on August 23, 2023, Pastor Kaloogian sent a letter to
Chairman Craig Francisco documenting Mr. Sawyer’s visit and expressing his concerns that filling out the form would be inappropriate and did not seem
to be warranted by the U.S. Constitution or the specific provisions of the
Town of Weare’s zoning ordinances.
Pastor Kaloogian noted in his letter that he had held numerous events at
his home without completing such an application in the past, including an
event earlier in August 2023 when hundreds gathered for a candidate meet- and-greet with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and a recurring Bible study that
met in his family room for the past two years, which Pastor Kaloogian had widely promoted in town
A 2019 zoning ordinance for the town of Weare says that churches are
permitted to operate in residential areas. Kaloogian determined that
Sawyer was not following local laws and violating his First Amendment
rights. Furthermore, New Hampshire state law says a former site plan isn't needed for religious land use, according to the Department of Justice
(DOJ). He continued conducting his church services.
About two months after that visit from Sawyer, Kaloogian decided to
install a more powerful heater in his barn, and he did most of the work himself, but the heater would require a new gas line. He hired a local
plumber to handle this. When the plumber attempted to get the necessary
permit from the town, it was almost approved until officials realized the address was Kaloogian's.
Officials also sent him a cease-and-desist letter that day, but
Kaloogian's lawyer pointed out that they were violating his First
Amendment rights. They paused the cease-and-desist, but the pastor
basically had many hoops through which he had to jump, and the county made
it as difficult as possible for him. He was subjected to repeated
inspections, fines, and threats of legal action. (If you're interested, I
urge you to read the full court documents — it's a prime example of
government overreach and shows that he was undoubtedly targeted.)
In early 2024, the First Liberty Institute filed a lawsuit on Kaloogian's behalf. "Demanding that a small group of Christians stop meeting in a home
for worship and prayer is flagrant denial on the free exercise of their religious beliefs," Jeremy Dys, a lawyer with First Liberty, said, adding, "Hundreds of thousands of Americans meet every day in homes for prayer meetings, Bible studies, book clubs, card games, and other gatherings. Why would Weare city officials stop this small, Christian congregation from
legally doing likewise?"
But the town responded with a motion "arguing in part that the plaintiffs’ claims are not ready to be heard by the court." Pam Bondi's DOJ disagrees.
Last week, the DOJ issued a statement that said, "The Justice Department
filed a statement of interest yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire explaining that the claims brought by a
Christian church and its pastor under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) are ready to be heard and
determined in federal court."
Eric Daugherty
@EricLDaugh
·
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?? BREAKING: A small, home-based church in New Hampshire was facing fines
from a local government for worshipping on their own property...
- and is now being DEFENDED by U.S. Assistant Attorney Harmeet Dhillon and
the Trump administration!
Trump is FIGHTING for Christians!!
I know it's just one little church in New Hampshire, but it's a perfect
example of what goes on across this country every day. It's rare and
certainly not something I've felt much in my lifetime, but each day, it
feels more and more like Donald Trump and his team are on the side of the American people. That's exactly what I voted for.
These are the types of stories that the fake news won't cover. (If you
don't believe me, just Google it and report back.) They don't want you to
know what's really happening in this country. They don't want you to know
that government officials will do everything in their power to stop a man
from preaching to less than 30 people in his own rural home, and they
certainly don't want you to know that the Trump administration is
restoring religious liberty.
https://pjmedia.com/sarah-anderson/2025/05/05/the-nanny-state-shut-down-a- small-new-hampshire-church-now-pam-bondi-is-involved-n4939504
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