SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
June, 30 2011, 01:48pm EDT
Contact:
Joe Conn, Rob Boston or Sandhya Bathija
202.466.3234
202.466.2587 fax
www.au.org
Americans United Lawsuit Challenges Sectarian Prayers At Delaware County Council Meetings
President-Led Recitation Of The Lord’s Prayer Shows Unconstitutional Preference For One Faith, Watchdog Group Charges
WASHINGTON
A Delaware county council's insistence on opening meetings with Christian prayer violates the U.S. Constitution and sends the message that non-Christians are second-class citizens, according to a lawsuit filed today in federal court by Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Americans United, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group, is challenging the Sussex County Council's long-standing practice of opening each of its meetings with a recitation of the Protestant version of the Lord's Prayer, led by Council President Michael H. Vincent.
"The council was elected to represent all of the county's citizens, Christian or otherwise," said Ayesha N. Khan, Americans United legal director. "By persistently sponsoring this Christian prayer, the county council has publicly aligned itself with a single faith.
"We have nothing against prayer," Khan continued. "But the Constitution does not give government officials the right to favor one religion over others."
In Mullin v. Sussex County, Americans United asks the court to permanently enjoin the county from sponsoring the Lord's Prayer or any other sectarian prayers at council meetings.
Americans United filed the lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware on behalf of four Sussex County residents. All plaintiffs in the lawsuit have attended council meetings in the past and were offended by the governmental body's promotion of one religious perspective and disregard of the community's religious diversity.
"I feel for others who, like myself, resent being subjected to a religious ritual that we may or may not share," said the Rev. John Steinbruck, a Lutheran minister and a plaintiff in this lawsuit. "It's un-American in that this is a diverse nation and we should respect that as did Thomas Jefferson."
Plaintiff Barbara Mullin has attended at least one council meeting per month as an observer for the League of Women Voters and said she is dismayed that these government leaders are not aware of the meaning of the First Amendment.
"The government does not have the right to make the decision as to which or what religion is promoted at a governmental meeting," said Mullin, a former member of a Unitarian Universalist congregation. "When the president starts the recitation of the Lord's Prayer, I feel resentful that they think this choice is theirs instead of mine.
"People who attend these meetings are pressured to go along with this," she continued, "and for any young students who happen to be attending, it certainly gives them a very erroneous view of what America is."
Other plaintiffs who have joined the case are Julie Jackson, a Christian and indigenous-rights activist who frequently attends council meetings to advocate on behalf of indigenous interests, and William O'Connor, a retired research psychologist who attended a council meeting to witness a commendation being given to a deceased police officer.
The council meetings occur on most Tuesdays of the year. Since 2009, the Lord's Prayer has been included in the minutes of the council meetings as an "invocation."
The meetings are open to the public and simultaneously broadcast on the county's website, and audio recordings of the meetings are also available on the county's website after the meetings.
Americans United first wrote to members of the Sussex County Council in June 2008, explaining that legislative prayers that are used to advance one religion are unconstitutional and requesting that the practice be discontinued. In April 2009, AU sent another letter. Neither letter received a response.
In addition to AU's Khan, AU Madison Fellow Hellen Papavizas, AU Stephen Gey Fellow Robert Shapiro and Delaware attorney David L. Finger have assisted in the case.*
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
* Papavizas is admitted in Massachusetts only, and Shapiro is admitted in Virginia only. Both are directly supervised by Ayesha N. Khan, a member of the D.C. Bar.
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
LATEST NEWS
After Venezuela Assault, Trump and Rubio Warn Cuba, Mexico, and Colombia Could Be Next
"The 'Trump corollary' to the Monroe Doctrine—applied in recent hours with violent force over the skies of Caracas—is the single greatest threat to peace and prosperity that the Americas confront today," said Progressive International.
Jan 03, 2026
US President Donald Trump and top administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, characterized Saturday's assault on Venezuela and abduction of the country's president as a warning shot in the direction of Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, and other Latin American nations.
During a Saturday press conference, Trump openly invoked the Monroe Doctrine—an assertion of US dominance of the Western Hemisphere—and said his campaign of aggression against Venezuela represented the "Donroe Doctrine" in action.
In his unwieldy remarks, Trump called out Colombian President Gustavo Petro by name, accusing him without evidence of "making cocaine and sending it to the United States."
"So he does have to watch his ass," the US president said of Petro, who condemned the Trump administration's Saturday attack on Venezuela as "aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and Latin America."
Petro responded defiantly to the possibility of the US targeting him, writing on social media that he is "not worried at all."
In a Fox News appearance earlier Saturday, Trump also took aim at the United States' southern neighbor, declaring ominously that "something's going to have to be done with Mexico," which also denounced the attack on Venezuela and abduction of President Nicolás Maduro.
"She is very frightened of the cartels," Trump said of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. "So we have to do something."
"This armed attack on Venezuela is not an isolated event. It is the next step in the United States' campaign of regime change that stretches from Caracas to Havana."
Rubio, for his part, focused on Cuba—a country whose government he has long sought to topple.
"If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I'd be concerned, at least a little bit," Rubio, who was born in Miami to Cuban immigrant parents, said during Saturday's press conference.
That the Trump administration wasted no time threatening other nations as it pledged to control Venezuela indefinitely sparked grave warnings, with the leadership of Progressive International cautioning that "this armed attack on Venezuela is not an isolated event."
"It is the next step in the United States' campaign of regime change that stretches from Caracas to Havana—and an attack on the very principle of sovereign equality and the prospects for the Zone of Peace once established by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States," the coalition said in a statement. "This renewed declaration of impunity from Washington is a threat to all nations around the world."
"Trump has clearly articulated the imperial logic of this intervention—to seize control over Venezuela's natural resources and reassert US domination over the hemisphere," said Progressive International. "The 'Trump corollary' to the Monroe Doctrine—applied in recent hours with violent force over the skies of Caracas—is the single greatest threat to peace and prosperity that the Americas confront today."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'The Actions of a Rogue State': US Lawmakers Demand Emergency Vote to Stop Trump War on Venezuela
"Trump has no right to take us to war with Venezuela. This is reckless and illegal," said Rep. Greg Casar. "Congress should vote immediately on a War Powers Resolution to stop him."
Jan 03, 2026
Members of the US Congress on Saturday demanded emergency legislative action to prevent the Trump administration from taking further military action in Venezuela after the president threatened a "second wave" of attacks and said the US will control the South American country's government indefinitely.
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), said that "Congress should vote immediately on a War Powers Resolution to stop" President Donald Trump, whose administration has for months unlawfully bombed boats in international waters and threatened a direct military assault on Venezuela without lawmakers' approval.
"Trump has no right to take us to war with Venezuela. This is reckless and illegal," said Casar. "My entire life, politicians have been sending other people’s kids to die in reckless regime change wars. Enough. No new wars."
Another prominent CPC member, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), said in response to the bombing of Venezuela and capture of its president that "these are the actions of a rogue state."
"Trump’s illegal and unprovoked bombing of Venezuela and kidnapping of its president are grave violations of international law and the US Constitution," Tlaib wrote on social media. "The American people do not want another regime change war abroad."
Progressives weren't alone in criticizing the administration's unauthorized military action in Venezuela. Establishment Democrats, including Sen. Adam Schiff of California and others, also called for urgent congressional action in the face of Trump's latest unlawful bombing campaign.
"Without congressional approval or the buy-in of the public, Trump risks plunging a hemisphere into chaos and has broken his promise to end wars instead of starting them," Schiff said in a statement. "Congress must bring up a new War Powers Resolution and reassert its power to authorize force or to refuse to do so. We must speak for the American people who profoundly reject being dragged into new wars."
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said he will force a Senate vote next week on a bipartisan War Powers Resolution to block additional US military action in Venezuela.
"Where will this go next?" Kaine asked in a statement. "Will the president deploy our troops to protect Iranian protesters? To enforce the fragile ceasefire in Gaza? To battle terrorists in Nigeria? To seize Greenland or the Panama Canal? To suppress Americans peacefully assembling to protest his policies? Trump has threatened to do all this and more and sees no need to seek legal authorization from people’s elected legislature before putting servicemembers at risk."
“It is long past time for Congress to reassert its critical constitutional role in matters of war, peace, diplomacy, and trade," Kaine added. "My bipartisan resolution stipulating that we should not be at war with Venezuela absent a clear congressional authorization will come up for a vote next week."
The lawmakers' push for legislative action came as Trump clearly indicated that his administration isn't done intervening in Venezuela's internal politics—and plans to exploit the country's vast oil reserves.
During a press conference on Saturday, Trump said that the US "is going to run" Venezuela, signaling the possibility of a troop deployment.
"We're not afraid of boots on the ground," the president said in response to a reporter's question, adding vaguely that his administration is "designating various people" to run the government.
Whether the GOP-controlled Congress acts to constrain the Trump administration will depend on support from Republicans, who have largely applauded the US attack on Venezuela and capture of Maduro. In separate statements, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) described the operation as "decisive" and justified.
Ahead of Saturday's assault, the Republican-controlled Congress rejected War Powers Resolutions aimed at preventing Trump from launching a war on Venezuela without lawmakers' approval.
One Republican lawmaker who had raised constitutional concerns about Saturday's actions, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, appeared to drop them after a phone call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
But Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) noted in a statement that both Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth "looked every senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn’t about regime change."
"I didn’t trust them then, and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress," said Kim. "Trump rejected our constitutionally required approval process for armed conflict because the administration knows the American people overwhelmingly reject risks pulling our nation into another war."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'We Are Going to Run the Country,' Trump Says of Venezuela After Maduro Abduction
The US president said American fossil fuel companies will "go in and spend billions of dollars" in Venezuela, which has the largest known oil reserves in the world.
Jan 03, 2026
Update:
President Donald Trump said Saturday that the US intends to control Venezuela until a "proper transition can take place," indicating that the bombing of the South American country and abduction of its president were just the start of the Trump administration's illegal intervention there.
"We are going to run the country," Trump said during a press conference at his Florida resort, flanked by top US officials. Asked to elaborate, Trump said his administration is in the process of "designating various people" to run the government, adding that "we're not afraid of boots on the ground."
The president went on to say that US forces are prepared to launch "a much larger attack" on Venezuela if he deems it necessary, threatening other political figures in the country.
"What happened to Maduro can happen to them," he said.
Trump also declared that American fossil fuel companies will "go in and spend billions of dollars" in Venezuela, which has the largest known oil reserves in the world.
Earlier:
President Donald Trump is set to hold a press conference late Saturday morning at his Mar-a-Lago resort hours after US forces bombed Venezuela and abducted the nation's president, Nicolás Maduro, who is being taken to New York to face new federal charges.
The press conference is scheduled to begin at 11 am ET, and it comes as Trump is facing backlash at home and around the world for launching an illegal regime-change war.
Watch live:
In a Fox News appearance ahead of the press conference, Trump brushed aside criticism from Democratic lawmakers and others who said the US bombing of Venezuela and abduction of its president were illegal.
Democratic lawmakers expressing that view are "weak, stupid people," the president said, declaring that the actions he approved without congressional authorization and in violation of international law should be applauded.
“They should say, 'Great job,'” Trump said. “They shouldn’t say, ‘Oh, gee, maybe it’s not constitutional.’ You know the same old stuff that we’ve been hearing for years and years and years.”
Trump went on to declare that the US will "be involved" in Venezuela's political future following Maduro's abduction. Asked if he would throw his support behind right-wing opposition leader María Corina Machado, the US president said, "We have to look at it."
"They have a vice president, as you know," said Trump, referring to Delcy Rodríguez, who is next in line to take power.
An indictment unsealed Saturday morning shows that Maduro, his wife, and top Venezuelan officials will face federal drug trafficking and narcoterrorism charges.
The document characterizes Maduro as "previously the president of Venezuela."
CNN reported that the raid resulting in Maduro and his wife's capture was carried out by the US Army's elite Delta Force.
"The couple was captured in the middle of the night as they were sleeping," the outlet reported, citing unnamed sources. "A team of FBI agents was with the US special operation forces who carried out the capture."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular