January 1, Patron Saints of First Responders Trigger ACLU Lawsuit in Blue State

Wyatt’s Take

• The ACLU and allied groups sued to block two bronze statues honoring police and firefighters outside a Massachusetts public safety building
• City chose St. Michael (patron of police) and St. Florian (patron of firefighters) to honor first responders, boost morale, and inspire courage
• Liberal activists claim religious imagery violates state constitution despite both saints being honored across multiple faiths for generations

A Massachusetts city is fighting back against the ACLU’s attempt to block statues honoring the patron saints of police officers and firefighters from being displayed outside its public safety headquarters. The legal battle could be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, with both sides saying the outcome will shape the future of religious displays on government property.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, representing the city of Quincy, told Fox News Digital they’re expecting an imminent decision from the Massachusetts Supreme Court.

“The ACLU’s position is anti-art and anti-history and we’re confident the justices will reject it,” Joseph Davis, senior counsel at Becket and lead attorney for Quincy, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“We don’t hide away beautiful civic art just because it might make someone think of religion, and nothing in Massachusetts law says otherwise. Quincy has every right to honor its first responders with symbols that have inspired courage and sacrifice for generations,” Davis added.

The controversy erupted after Quincy announced plans to install two 10-foot bronze statues of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian outside its new public safety headquarters. The statues were crafted by a sculptor in Italy and chosen by Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch.

St. Michael is the patron saint of police officers while St. Florian is the patron saint of firefighters.

According to court documents, Koch said he did not choose the statues to advertise religion but to “honor, inspire, and encourage our First Responders” as well as “boost morale,” and “ensure [first responders’] lifesaving work would remain maximally effective.”

Critics claimed the plan hadn’t been publicly disclosed during the building approval process and raised constitutional concerns. In May 2025, various faith groups of Quincy residents and taxpayers sued the City of Quincy and Koch in Norfolk Superior Court, arguing the planned installation violated the Massachusetts Constitution’s protections on religious neutrality.

The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU of Massachusetts, the national ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Cloherty & Steinberg LLP.

In its brief, the ACLU of Massachusetts says, “The statues, whose imagery is drawn directly from Catholic iconography, lack a predominantly secular purpose. The primary effect of permanently installing two new, oversized, overtly religious statues as the sole adornments on the City’s public safety building is to advance religion.”

A brief for the National Fraternal Order of Police and Massachusetts Fraternal Order of Police counters that St. Michael is revered by people of various faiths, not just Christians.

“First responders of all stripes, religious creeds, and political affiliations — and not just Catholics or Christians — cherish both saints for their symbolic importance to the profession,” the brief states.

Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, told Fox News Digital in a statement, “The Massachusetts Declaration of Rights demands that our government remain neutral in matters of religion. This neutrality is precisely what allows the richly varied beliefs of our clients and others — including deeply held Christian beliefs — to flourish in cities like Quincy and across the Commonwealth.

Rossman added, “The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court established the legal test to analyze Art. 3 claims nearly 50 years ago, and for good reason, that test remains good law. Under that test, installing these statues as the sole adornment on a government building, especially one intended to provide essential services to all residents, violates our state constitution.”

Why It Matters

This case goes to the heart of whether Americans can still honor tradition and faith in public spaces without radical activists trying to erase every symbol of our heritage. For generations, St. Michael and St. Florian have inspired courage in men and women who run toward danger to save lives. Blocking these statues dishonors their service and sends a clear message: woke ideology matters more than the people who protect our communities. Working Americans across this country understand what the ACLU doesn’t — sometimes the symbols that inspire sacrifice come from places deeper than courtroom arguments.