DOJ pledges funds for security at religious sites amid rising attacks
The Department of justice is allocating over $7.7 million to enhance security at religious sites amid a surge in threats and violence, including active shooter incidents targeting such institutions. Funding opportunities allow faith communities and law enforcement to request up to $150,000 or $200,000 for measures like security equipment, training, and overtime law enforcement coverage, aimed at protecting worshippers and preventing attacks. The rise in violence includes three active shooter incidents in 2025 and increasing acts of hostility,vandalism,and threats against churches from 2018 through 2024.
Federal funds will support safety measures such as professional-grade security cameras linked to law enforcement systems to facilitate evidence collection, especially for hate crimes. Additionally, overtime costs for law enforcement presence at religious facilities will be covered to serve as deterrents.
The uptick in violence against religious groups is reflected in data from organizations like the Family Research Council, showing a notable increase in incidents as 2018, and incidents linked to anti-Christian sentiments and hate crimes. Recent geopolitical conflicts and domestic tensions have heightened concerns over targeted violence, with examples including a vehicle-ramming attack on a Michigan synagogue by a Lebanese-born U.S. citizen following Israel’s military actions.Law enforcement remains alert for potential retaliatory or extremist acts, including those inspired by recent global conflicts or ideological motives.
The DOJ’s grant aims to foster stronger partnerships between religious communities and law enforcement, improve security infrastructure, and enhance incident reporting and investigation capacities to address the rising threats.
The Department of Justice is offering more than $7.7 million to boost security at religious facilities after a nationwide increase in active shooters and other threats against them.
Faith-based institutions and police agencies can apply for up to $150,000 or $200,000 each for varying expenses related to protecting worshippers, according to the DOJ’s Wednesday funding notice. Three active shooters in the U.S. targeted such institutions in 2025 during a spike in deadly incidents by more than double since 2024, WBAL-TV reported in April, citing data from the Violence Prevention Project.
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One category of the federal funding supports training and supplies for professional-grade security cameras, which will then be hooked up to real-time law enforcement systems, the DOJ said. “Video evidence is essential for proving the ‘bias motivation’ element required in hate crime cases, significantly increasing conviction rates and ensuring perpetrators face appropriate charges rather than having charges dismissed or reduced,” the department wrote.
The second category “will fund overtime costs for state and local law enforcement officers to provide visible, uniformed security presence” at religious facilities, the DOJ explained. “The visible deterrent effect of professional law enforcement presence has proven effective in preventing attacks on houses of worship.”
Violence on sacred grounds
The Christian advocacy group Family Research Council reported an uptick in crimes, vandalism, and threats targeting U.S. churches from 50 incidents in 2018 to 485 in 2023. The numbers leveled out at 415 in 2024, the organization found. Officials explicitly linked anti-Christian sentiment to the transgender-identified gunman who killed two children at a Minnesota Catholic church in August 2025.
Additionally, military conflicts in the Middle East since the 2023 Israel-Hamas war and the U.S. and Israel’s February assault on Iran have put agencies across the West on alert for violent backlash against Jews, among other targets. This year already brought at least one such incident: a Lebanon-born naturalized U.S. citizen rammed his truck into a Michigan synagogue in March after Israel killed his two Hezbollah terrorist brothers, law enforcement said. The man injured a security guard before dying in his burning vehicle.
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Two gunmen also killed three people at a California mosque in May before killing themselves, marking what appears to be the first ideologically motivated deadly attack against a U.S. mosque this century, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Law enforcement found suspected manifestos indicating the shooters harbored wide-ranging hatred for Jews, Muslims, women, and other groups.
The DOJ’s new grant opportunity will “strengthen partnerships between religious communities and local law enforcement, implement evidence-based security measures, and build institutional capacity to report incidents and assist in criminal investigations,” its funding notice says.
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