St. Mary’s Parish Sheriff’s Department has removed a religious post from its official Facebook page.
A Franklin, La. resident informed FFRF that St. Mary’s Parish Sheriff’s Office posted a “special Easter message from Sheriff Blaise Smith,” including a video over 2 minutes in length that largely amounted to a sermon by a government official. In this video, Smith stated:
“Jesus Christ has risen. Hallelujah. That’s what we need to be thinking about. The one thing we need to be thinking about is that we’re in a relationship with God . . . What a better time to come to the Father than today on Easter Sunday?” Below the video, the post stated that the sheriff’s office “prays that you will find hope and comfort in these words.”
FFRF Legal Fellow Brendan Johnson wrote to Smith requesting that the sheriff’s office refrain from posting messages and videos that proselytize or endorse religion.
Smith has informed FFRF via email that the post has been removed and no such messages will be posted in the future.
