(RepublicanInformer.com)- The 4th United States Circuit Court of Appeals just upheld a decision from a federal judge allowing a prayer rally, set to be headlined by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and one-time conservative pundit Milo Yiannopoulos, to go ahead at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore later in November.
Baltimore officials have pushed back against the rally, but the decision was confirmed last Wednesday. The court did not go into a long legal discussion about the case but instead confirmed that United States District Court Judge Ellen Hollander had already made the decision and that it stands.
St. Michael’s Media, a conservative and Catholic news media outlet, recently signed a contract with a city vendor for a rally to take place on November 16. The contract was signed hours after the three-judge panel in the appeals court ruled in favor of the group.
Marc Randazza, the attorney representing the group, said that he hopes Baltimore has “learned a lesson in First Amendment law” and that the taxpayers of the region will have to pay for that lesson.
An injunction was issued by Judge Hollander last month, barring Baltimore officials from stopping the rally from going ahead at the MECU Pavilion, a venue owned by the city. The city of Baltimore was sued by St. Michael’s Media after initially being told that they would not have access to the waterfront pavilion during the rally.
The event is being advertised as a prayer meeting and will coincide with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which will be meeting at the Marriott Baltimore Waterfront nearby.
In an 86-page written opinion, Judge Hollander said that the Catholic organization would prevail in its argument that the cancellation of the rally by the city would be a First Amendment infringement.
Yes, it would.
