{"id":2617966,"date":"2026-06-23T17:22:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T21:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ohio-man-had-to-petition-scotus-to-host-in-home-prayer-group\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T17:25:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T21:25:23","slug":"ohio-man-had-to-petition-scotus-to-host-in-home-prayer-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ohio-man-had-to-petition-scotus-to-host-in-home-prayer-group\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio Man Had To Petition SCOTUS To Host In-Home Prayer Group"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fohio-man-had-to-petition-scotus-to-host-in-home-prayer-group%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2617966&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Daniel Grand, an Orthodox Jew from Ohio, is suing the supreme Court after allegations that his local government restricted his religious practices. In 2021, he invited friends to his home for prayer, intending to establish a small prayer group. The town reported him and issued a cease-and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-nba-sent-cease-and-desist-letters-to-party-promoters-regarding-all-star-game\/\" title=\"Report: NBA Sent Cease-And...s To Party Promoters Regarding All-Star Game\">-desist order<\/a>, claiming he was operating an illegal religious assembly, which required a special-use permit. Grand was told he had to either seek the permit-something he argued would prevent him from living in his home-or cease the gatherings. Despite his attempts to clarify that he was only hosting a prayer group, the city maintained that permits were necessary. Unfriendly community opposition and surveillance targeted Grand, contributing to a tense environment.The city argued that his case was unripe because he withdrew his permit application before it was decided, and no immediate harm was presented. Grand\u2019s legal team contends the restriction interferes with his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ca-churches-finally-got-help-from-scotus-and-it-was-a-huge-blow-to-gavin-newsom\/\" title=\"CA Churches Finally Got Help from SCOTUS and It Was a Huge Blow to Gavin Newsom\">religious freedom<\/a>, and he has petitioned the supreme Court to intervene, seeking to overrule the lower court\u2019s dismissal and allow him to hold prayer meetings in his home.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Daniel Grand, a devout Orthodox Jew from University Heights, Ohio, is petitioning the Supreme Court claiming he was effectively blocked from hosting an in-home prayer group by his local government. <\/p>\n<p>In 2021, Grand sent an email to his friends inviting them to join him at his home for the \u201cinauguration\u201d of a shul that would host Jewish religious services, including prayer groups. That email was leaked to others in the town, who reported Grand to the city and asked them to \u201cput a stop to this,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/adflegal.org\/article\/daniel-grand-story\/?reference_code=11038656&#038;utm_medium=bing_paid&#038;utm_source=bing&#038;utm_id=&#038;utm_content=&#038;utm_campaign=brand&#038;utm_term=how+is+alliance+defending+freedom\">according <\/a>to Alliance Defending Freedom. The next day, Grand received a cease-and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/president-trump-calls-on-gop-to-stop-using-his-name-for-fundraising\/\" title=\"President Trump calls on GOP to stop using his name for fundraising\">-desist letter<\/a> from the city\u2019s law director ordering him to shut down his illegal \u201cplace of religious assembly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole purpose of this was because the synagogue is over a mile from Daniel\u2019s house, and it gets cold in Cleveland in the winters, and he wanted to set up a place where his friends could come [to pray] on Saturday, when they can\u2019t drive,\u201d said Grand\u2019s lawyer Jonathan Gross. <\/p>\n<p>Grand told the Federalist that the city of University Heights ordered him to seek a commercial special-use permit for his home, which is required for churches and synagogues. The cease-and-desist letter \u201cthreatened additional remedies,\u201d and presented obtaining a special-use permit as the only path to compliance, according to the ADF. However, a special-use permit also prohibits \u201csleeping or residential use,\u201d according to Grand, meaning if he wanted to have a shul at his home, he could not live there anymore.<\/p>\n<p>Grand felt like he was left with two choices: move out of his home, or withdraw his application for the permit. <\/p>\n<p>Former University Heights Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan told The Federalist that after he withdrew his application, Grand approached the city suggesting that he \u201cactually just wanted a prayer group,\u201d and Brennan said the city \u201chad no issue with that.\u201d He claims Grand asked the city to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with him about hosting a prayer group, and that while the city agreed to sign it, Grand never did. Instead, he took the case to the courts. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a manufactured controversy on Mr. Grand\u2019s part,\u201d Brennan told The Federalist. \u201cIf he was merely having a small prayer group that met regularly at his house, this would not require a permit, and it would not be city\u2019s business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brennan told The Federalist he made a statement asking people to \u201cfeel free\u201d to report any activity they saw at Grand\u2019s house that was \u201cconsistent with the operation of a house of worship.\u201d Grand claims this prompted one neighbor to put up security cameras all pointed at Grand\u2019s house, with one peering into his son\u2019s bedroom. A University Heights Police lieutenant also directed officers to drive by Grand\u2019s house to check for violations, according to court <a href=\"https:\/\/cases.justia.com\/federal\/appellate-courts\/ca6\/24-3876\/24-3876-2025-11-13.pdf?ts=1763058646\">documents<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were doing that for months,\u201d Grand said. \u201cI felt like paparazzi every time I walked out of my house. It was a very strong, \u2018You\u2019re not welcome here\u2019 kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Grand\u2019s public hearing, town members reportedly sent \u201cabout a dozen\u201d hostile letters to the city opposing the permit, saying things such as, \u201cI am not Jewish and I do not want our neighborhood labelled as Jewish,\u201d according to Grand.<\/p>\n<p>Brennan noted that he approved every special-use permit that completed the application process while he was mayor, including permits for three other synagogues and a mikvah. <\/p>\n<p>The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals took the position that because Grand withdrew his permit application and never got a ruling to dispute, the case is \u201cunripe.\u201d In Grand\u2019s appeal, he \u201carticulates a perfectly sound legal argument but misconceives the situation. Federal courts indeed dismiss cases for lack of ripeness without prejudice.\u201d However, as ADF points out, the court did not address \u201cthe constitutionality of the city\u2019s actions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The city of University Heights <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/25\/25-965\/408582\/20260511162721122_25-965%20Brief%20in%20Opposition.pdf\">argued <\/a>that land disputes like Grand\u2019s need a final determination from the district court to proceed. Grand could not get a final determination because he withdrew his permit application, and therefore \u201ccould not establish finality and certainly no distinct harm.\u201d The city also claimed the cease-and-desist letter presented no \u201cimmediate harm\u201d because it did not impose a fine or restriction other than what was already stipulated in town ordinance.<\/p>\n<p>In their legal <a href=\"https:\/\/adfmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/grandcertreplybrief.pdf\">filing<\/a>, Grand and his lawyers argued the cease-and-desist letter caused harm to Grand by preventing his prayer group from meeting on the Sabbath in his home, and that harm was exacerbated by the coordinated effort to spy on Grand\u2019s home for any prayer meetings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis dispute began with Daniel Grand trying to pray with a small group of friends in his own living room \u2013 a group of 10, consistent with his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senator-grassley-and-others-discuss-personal-faith-at-senate-hearing-on-equality-act\/\" title=\"Senator Grassley And Others Discuss Personal Faith At Senate Hearing On Equality Act\">personal religious beliefs<\/a>,\u201d a spokesperson for Grand\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >legal counsel told<\/a> The Federalist. \u201cThe city created a procedural maze and undertook a surveillance exercise designed to chill that religious act.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grand and the ADF announced they filed a petition on May 28 asking the Supreme Court to step in and hear his case, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/adfmedia.org\/case\/grand-v-city-of-university-heights\/\">Grand v. City of University Heights<\/a><\/em>, which would overrule the circuit court\u2019s dismissal and allow him to host the simple in-home prayer gathering that he wanted from the beginning. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m asking for all people of faith and who believe in the Constitution to pray that the Supreme Court takes up this case,\u201d Grand said. \u201cWe want God in the home. I should not have a government telling me that I have no right to have God in my home. Yes, I do.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Luke Miller is a contributor for The Federalist who is studying political economy and journalism at Hillsdale College.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Orthodox Jew Daniel Grand sues over in-home prayer ban<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4303,"featured_media":2617967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/danielgrand10-scaled-1-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[81613,4333,5434,81612,6994],"class_list":["post-2617966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-in-home","tag-ohio","tag-petition","tag-prayer-group","tag-scotus"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/danielgrand10-scaled-1-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2617966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2617966"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2617966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2617970,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2617966\/revisions\/2617970"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2617967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2617966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2617966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2617966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}