MILACA, MN – September 19, 2026 (STL.News) A religious-liberty dispute involving two Amish congregations in Minnesota is escalating after attorneys accused Mille Lacs County of enforcing building and permitting requirements in ways that make it difficult for Amish families to construct homes and businesses without violating their religious beliefs.
First Liberty Institute, Foley & Lardner LLP, and the Harvard Law School Religious Freedom Clinic are representing the congregations. The legal organizations sent a demand letter to Mille Lacs County seeking religious accommodations and warning that continued enforcement could lead to litigation.
First Liberty Senior Counsel Ryan Gardner has gone so far as to say the county has “essentially criminalized being Amish.”
That characterization is an allegation by the Amish congregations’ attorney, not a judicial finding. However, several underlying facts in the dispute can be independently confirmed, including Mille Lacs County’s decision to move its permit application process online and its enforcement of building-code requirements.
County moved permit applications online
Mille Lacs County states on its official website that beginning June 1, 2022, county offices would no longer accept paper permit or license applications.
“All applications will need to be submitted online,” the county’s permit page says.
The online system covers numerous applications, including building permits, home occupation and home-based business applications, house-moving permits, conditional-use permits and septic-system permits. Applicants using the system receive an email confirmation after submitting an application.
That created an unusual problem for Amish residents whose religious practices restrict or prohibit the use of computers, the internet, and other modern technologies.
According to First Liberty, Mille Lacs County initially provided no alternative for several months. The organization says the county eventually restored access to paper applications but imposed a $50 charge for submitting them on paper.
First Liberty maintains that Amish residents are almost exclusively the people using the paper option.
First Liberty alleges the $50 charge and its impact on Amish applicants. STL.News did not locate a current county document during its review independently establishing the specific $50 paper-processing charge described by the organization.
Dispute extends beyond online applications
The controversy is not limited to how applications are submitted.
First Liberty says Amish families encounter another obstacle once they enter the permitting process: requirements within modern building regulations that they contend conflict with sincerely held religious beliefs.
Mille Lacs County, meanwhile, says it enforces Minnesota’s State Building Code and requires construction to meet minimum standards.
The county warns that construction beginning before a building permit is issued will result in a fine. Inspections determine whether construction complies with applicable requirements, and final inspections are required before certificates of occupancy are issued when applicable.
That regulatory authority is now colliding with the Amish congregations’ religious-liberty claims.
First Liberty says that because members could not obtain permits without violating their beliefs, some proceeded with construction of homes and businesses anyway.
That resulted in civil and criminal enforcement actions, according to the organization.
First Liberty says Amish man was jailed
First Liberty says one Amish resident was convicted and jailed after building and living in his home.
Gardner told CBN News that the man was criminally cited and convicted before authorities took him into custody. The organization says other Amish residents have faced fines, criminal charges and warrants connected with the dispute.
STL.News has not independently obtained the underlying criminal court record establishing all circumstances surrounding that prosecution and incarceration.
That distinction is important because Mille Lacs County has not publicly offered a detailed response to the allegations.
CBN News reported that county officials referred questions to the Mille Lacs County Attorney’s Office, which declined to discuss the matter because of ongoing litigation.
First Liberty announced its involvement Sept. 1 and said the county had been given until Sept. 8 to respond to its request for discussions.
Attorneys argue religious accommodation is possible
The Amish congregations are not arguing that Mille Lacs County has no authority to regulate construction.
Instead, their attorneys contend that the county must consider whether its legitimate health and safety objectives can be achieved through alternatives that do not force Amish residents to violate their religious beliefs.
First Liberty says an ordinance involved in the prosecutions specifically states that the county may “exempt structures or buildings from the certificate requirement.”
The organization argues that this discretionary authority makes the county’s refusal to accommodate the Amish particularly significant.
“The Amish merely want to provide for their families by building their homes and businesses in accordance with their faith,” Gardner said in First Liberty’s announcement.
Josh McDaniel, director of the Harvard Law School Religious Freedom Clinic, similarly argued that religious accommodations should be considered before Amish residents face criminal penalties.
The attorneys contend that federal and constitutional religious-liberty protections require the county to consider less restrictive alternatives.
Supreme Court previously considered Minnesota Amish case
The Mille Lacs County controversy has an important Minnesota precedent.
In Mast v. Fillmore County, Amish residents challenged another Minnesota county over wastewater disposal regulations.
The case involved members of the Swartzentruber Amish community who objected on religious grounds to requirements associated with modern septic systems.
The dispute eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
On July 2, 2021, the Supreme Court granted the petition, vacated the Minnesota judgment, and sent the case back for additional consideration in light of its decision in Fulton v. Philadelphia.
The case centered in part on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, commonly known as RLUIPA.
The federal law provides significant protections against land-use regulations that substantially burden religious exercise.
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote separately in Mast, emphasizing the government’s obligation to justify applying a restriction to the specific religious claimants rather than relying solely on broad assertions about a regulation’s importance.
The Supreme Court did not simply declare all building or septic regulations unconstitutional for Amish residents. Instead, its action required the dispute to be reconsidered under the applicable religious-liberty standards.
That distinction could become important if the Mille Lacs County dispute proceeds to court.
Public safety and religious liberty collide
Mille Lacs County has legitimate governmental interests behind its building regulations.
Building codes set minimum construction standards, while septic regulations protect public health, groundwater, and surrounding properties.
The Amish congregations’ question is narrower: whether those objectives can be met through accommodations that allow Amish families to maintain their religious practices.
That could involve separating regulations genuinely necessary to protect neighboring properties and public health from requirements that could be modified without creating a significant safety risk.
The availability of exemptions or alternative construction practices could therefore become central to any eventual court challenge.
The county’s previous decision to require electronic applications could also face scrutiny because Amish applicants are disproportionately affected by a government process that requires internet and email access.
The county’s website still states that permit applications are submitted online through its RTVision system.
Dispute could become another religious-liberty test
No court has determined that Mille Lacs County discriminated against the Amish in the current dispute.
Likewise, First Liberty’s statement that the county has “essentially criminalized being Amish” reflects the legal organization’s characterization of the county’s enforcement practices, not an established judicial conclusion.
But the underlying controversy raises substantial questions.
Two Amish congregations are being represented by national religious-liberty attorneys. At least one Amish resident was jailed according to those attorneys. Other community members reportedly face civil or criminal enforcement. The county says it operates an online permitting system and enforces Minnesota building standards.
And Minnesota has already been involved in a closely watched Supreme Court dispute over how government regulations should be applied when they conflict with Amish religious practices.
If the Mille Lacs County dispute cannot be resolved through negotiated accommodations, another court may ultimately have to determine where the government’s regulatory authority ends and federal protections for religious exercise begin.
Sources: Mille Lacs County; First Liberty Institute; U.S. Supreme Court; Harvard Law School Religious Freedom Clinic; CBN News.
Editor’s note: Allegations concerning discrimination, the $50 paper-application charge, and individual enforcement actions are attributed to First Liberty Institute and attorneys representing the Amish congregations where STL.News could not independently verify the underlying records. During our review, we found no court ruling establishing religious discrimination by Mille Lacs County in this dispute.
