RALEIGH, NC – Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to the Raleigh Police Department on behalf of Gospel of God Ministries which has been improperly restricted in its evangelistic speech and activities at public festivals around the city. The letter, addressed to Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce, states that city police officers repeatedly ordered Christian evangelist Tommy Waltz and other ministry members to stop preaching, turn off its sound system, and leave public streets and sidewalks during several public events, including the Brewgaloo North Carolina Craft Beer Festival, the Packapalooza Festival, the North Carolina State Fair, and the Bluegrass Festival.

Under the First Amendment, traditional public forums remain protected even when permitted festivals are taking place whereby Waltz’s ministry has been engaging in lawful religious expression, reads the letter. Liberty Counsel requests written confirmation from the Raleigh Police Department that it will stop interfering with the protected religious expression of Gospel of God Ministries on public streets and sidewalks at public events.

Liberty Counsel sent the letter on April 16, 2026, requesting a response by April 23.

As the letter explains, Raleigh police officers unconstitutionally denied access to public sidewalks, improperly relied on event coordinators’ objections, and misapplied local noise ordinances to curtail the ministry’s speech. The improper restrictions include:

• Brewgaloo Festival (April 2023) – The ministry was removed from a public sidewalk after being accused of trespassing without legal basis.

• Packapalooza Festival (August 23, 2025) – Amplified sound was prohibited despite compliance with legal limits and competing with surrounding live music.

• North Carolina State Fair (October 2025) – Officers claimed the sidewalks near the gate were not public forums and barred the ministry from distributing Gospel tracts.

• Bluegrass Festival (October 4, 2025) – The ministry was ordered to stop preaching due to event coordinator objections, despite being on public sidewalks.

Streets and sidewalks are “undisputed quintessential public forums” with heightened First Amendment protection, wrote Liberty Counsel. Since the restrictions were not “content-neutral” or “narrowly tailored to a significant government interest,” nor did they “leave open alternative channels of communication,” they fail the “time, place, and manner test” for restrictions on public gatherings and speech.

Liberty Counsel’s Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The First Amendment does not disappear at public events or when a festival coordinator objects to a particular message. Public streets and sidewalks remain traditional public forums, and police may not silence the lawful religious speech of Gospel for God Ministries or any other ministry. When officers remove speakers from public forums or selectively enforce ordinances to suppress speech, they cross a constitutional line. The First Amendment exists precisely to guard free religious expression, and the Raleigh Police Department should stop interfering with those protections.”

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Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.

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