Pro-Life Activist Jailed for Silent Prayer Appeals to Supreme Court
Minnesota man challenges ordinance criminalizing “annoyance” in public spaces.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Pro-life activist Matthew Connolly, 42, of St. Paul, is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review his conviction for silently praying near a Michigan abortion facility, a case his attorneys say could have far-reaching implications for free speech, according to reporting from the Christian Post.
Connolly was sentenced to 90 days in jail under a Southfield ordinance that criminalizes conduct causing “annoyance” or “disquiet” in public. His legal team argues he never entered the clinic, raised his voice, or disrupted operations, but was arrested while kneeling in prayer in a public area.
He refused a probation condition that would bar him from pro-life speech within 500 feet of any abortion facility nationwide, calling it an unconstitutional “gag order.” Advocates for Faith & Freedom and the American Freedom Law Center filed a petition for Supreme Court review on Monday.
“It is about whether the government can silence pro-life Americans and criminalize public prayer,” attorney Erin Mersino said. “If this unconstitutional gag order is allowed to stand, then no one’s speech is safe.”
Connolly’s activism has previously drawn legal trouble. In 2021, the Justice Department sued him under the FACE Act after he allegedly barricaded himself in a Planned Parenthood restroom for over three hours, triggering a SWAT response and clinic evacuation. He has been arrested at least eight times in four states, with multiple convictions for trespassing and resisting arrest.
