Three progressive legal groups filed suit Wednesday against Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, saying she broke the First Amendment by sending an Easter Sunday message to federal employees that referenced her Christian faith.
The suit landed in a California federal court, brought by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Democracy Forward, and Bryan Schwartz Law on behalf of Agriculture Department workers and the National Federation of Federal Employees.
The email at the center of the case went out to the full USDA workforce on Easter Sunday. It opened by celebrating what Rollins described as the greatest story ever told and the foundation of our faith. Attorneys argue the use of first-person plural language implied employees were expected to share the secretary’s beliefs.
A second passage compared USDA staff to the disciples of Jesus, calling on them to be alive with hope and full of Paschal joy as they carried out their agency mission.
The filing claims Rollins violated the Establishment Clause through religious coercion and denominational preference. Attorneys note she has sent no comparable messages acknowledging non-Christian holidays. The Easter email arrived during Passover this year.
Ethan Roberts, an Agricultural Research Service employee, said in a statement that the emails have made him feel unwelcome after a decade at the agency. He said federal workers should not have to endure religious sermons from their department head.
A second plaintiff told attorneys she feared that requesting removal from the email distribution list would cost her professionally.
USDA declined to address the substance of the allegations. A spokesperson said the department does not comment on pending litigation and will continue carrying out its mission.
