October 20, 2026
WASHINGTON (BP) – An Ohio man says his local city government violated his rights when it wouldn’t allow him to hold a prayer gathering in his home. The City of University Heights has been working to dismiss Daniel Grand’s case. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in early December.
According to a release from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), Grand invited a group of friends to a prayer gathering at his home in January 2021. The city said he would violate a city ordinance because he needed a permit.
Grand is an Orthodox Jew and invited others to a Sabbath prayer meeting. Someone emailed the invitation to the mayor’s office to object to the gathering, resulting in a cease-and-desist notice.
University Heights Mayor Michael Brennan maintains such gatherings violate the law because Grand invited more than 10 people.
“Grand wanted to use his residential property as a recurring place where a group of people would assemble for religious services,” the city’s attorneys said in their filing.
Grand believes his First Amendment rights were violated.
“Every American has the right to host a prayer gathering in his home, and he certainly doesn’t need a city permit to do so. When government officials forbid that, courts must hold those individuals accountable, immediately,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch.
Religious liberty leaders believe the city is misusing an ordinance requiring places of religious assembly to have a permit.
A joint amicus brief between the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops says, “The City’s cease and desist letter, threatening to prohibit those prayer meetings, prevents or at least substantially chills Mr. Grand from using his home to practice his Jewish faith in violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and the First Amendment.”
Grand’s neighbors allegedly influenced the city’s decision, writing letters and attending a hearing “marked by overt hostility to Jewish religious practice,” ADF reported. One neighbor wrote: “I am not Jewish, and I do not want our neighborhood labeled as Jewish.”
Ethicist and attorney Zack Pruitt says this should not be.
“It is only because he is Jewish and because he was wanting to pray that the city intervened. No one needs a permit to pray, and if the free exercise of religion means anything, it means that you can gather privately in your home to pray with your friends,” Pruitt, ERLC’s vice president for public policy and general counsel, told Baptist Press.
“If Daniel Grand were hosting a movie night with 12 friends, the City of University Heights would not have subjected him to multiple hearings and repeated harassment by city officials,” he said.
Legal counsel from ADF and ERLC agree this case gives the Supreme Court an opportunity to make a statement.
“The city’s actions underscore a troubling trend of weaponizing zoning laws against people of faith while allowing other gatherings of the same size, like book clubs or poker nights, to meet without issue. We’re pleased the Supreme Court will hear this case,” Bursch said.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments Dec. 6.
“The Supreme Court should reverse this injustice to Mr. Grand and clarify that a violation of religious liberty is actionable when the violation occurs and does not require an arduous process of navigating local zoning laws to completion in order to make a claim,” Pruitt said.
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This article appeared in Baptist Press.
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