Supreme Court Rejects IL Republicans Ask To Hold Large Gatherings

WASHINGTON, DC — The United States Supreme Court on Saturday rejected a request by Illinois Republicans to allow large political gatherings, the New York Times reported, siding with a lower court that ruled the gatherings were not exempt from Gov. J.B. Pritzker's statewide order barring most gatherings of more than 50 people.

In their emergency application to the Supreme Court, the Illinois Republican Party and other Republican groups said the order from Pritzker, a Democrat, interfered with their First Amendment rights.

The Illinois Republican Party filed suit against Pritzker last month, arguing his ban on gatherings also violated the 14th Amendment.

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The suit argued that churches and protests are treated differently from political rallies under the law. Religious services have been exempt from the ban, while protests, though not officially exempt, have largely been allowed anyway.

In earlier proceedings, Federal District Court Judge Sara Ellis rejected the Republicans’ request for an injunction. A unanimous panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit refused to stay Judge Ellis’s ruling while the case moved forward, according to the Times.

Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, who oversees the Seventh Circuit, denied the Republicans’ application without comment.