The display, accompanied by prayer, Christmas carols and a reading of the Christmas story, was made possible by a landmark federal court decision that granted Rev. Patrick Mahoney and his supporters the right to peacefully celebrate the Christmas season on Capitol grounds.
Held on the southeastern steps of the Capitol, the display was the culmination of a legal battle that began over a decade ago when Mahoney, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian Defense Coalition, faced repeated threats of arrest for his attempts to read the Christmas story from the Bible and hold a Nativity display at the Capitol Christmas tree.
Mahoney wrote on X: “7 months ago, we would’ve been arrested for having this Nativity Display on the steps of the US Capitol. However, we won an historic federal lawsuit through the incredible work of the Center for American Liberty which allowed us on the steps!”
In his lawsuit, Mahoney stated, “The ‘People’s House,’ as the U.S. Capitol Building is so rightly called, must be a place where all Americans are afforded the right to come and peacefully celebrate and express their First Amendment rights. Tragically, those rights and freedoms are being denied and prohibited.”
He contended that while lawmakers, media, lobbyists and tourists were free to enter and use the Capitol grounds, his own request for a peaceful demonstration was denied.