Could Citizens' Prayers Cost Carroll County $10K a Pop?

An advocacy group for secular government has filed a complaint against Carroll County in federal court, alleging the Board of Commissioners broke the law twice by allowing the name of Jesus Christ to be used at two meetings in the last week.

The American Humanist Organization is asking the U.S. District Court to fine the Carroll County Board of Commissioners $30,000 for allowing specific religious references in a public forum and $10,000 for any future references.

Last week, a judge barred the commissioners from naming specific deities at their meetings while a lawsuit regarding the legality of Christian prayer at their gatherings gets underway.

The Fourth Circuit said the following phrases would be OK, according to a statement from Carroll County: "Lord God, our creator," "giver and sustainer of life," "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob," "Heavenly Father," "Lord our Governor," "mighty God," "Lord of Lords, King of Kings, creator of planet Earth and the universe and our own creator."

However, the American Humanist Organization—a Washington, D.C., based group that advocates for secular government—filed a motion on Tuesday to hold the commission in contempt of the judge's order.

At the Tuesday morning meeting of the commissioners, citizen Bruce Holstein took to the podium during the public comment period to discuss the judge's injunction.

"...we the citizens of Carroll County are not going to stand for it," he said. "This order discriminates against Christians and is a gross violation of our commissioners' First Amendment Constitutional rights."

Holstein is the campaign treasurer for Commissioner Richard Rothschild, according to the motion for contempt filed by the American Humanist Organization.

His remarks implied that the U.S. District Court judge who ordered the injunction was "a liberal activist whose policies have led to evils like abortion," according to American Humanist Organization's complaint.

The motion for contempt states that the commissioners did not attempt to interrupt the prayer or imply that it was inappropriate.

Holstein mentioned "Jesus" six times in his two-minute commentary.

The judge's injunction on faith-specific prayer stated that "the county" was not to invoke specific faith-based references but did not mention citizens.

An attorney for the Carroll County Board of Commissioners was not immediately available for comment.

Related: Carroll Commissioner Invokes Jesus Despite Judge's Order