Standing on a public sidewalk with a loudspeaker near anything that could conceivably be described as a religious gathering could come with a felony soon. 

HB 4117 started its life as a bill to protect churchgoers from having services disrupted. But it’s been transformed into a Senate “strike-everything” amendment, which removes the original words and replaces it with new bill language, often with little or no relation to the original bill. 

Now, it’s something considerably more expansive, creating a new criminal offense called "interfering with a religious service or activity." 

That last word, “activity,” has abortion clinics, civil liberties advocates, and LGBTQ+ rights groups on edge — but why?

What the bill does 

Under the strike everything bill, it’s a Class 1 misdemeanor — the highest misdemeanor classification, carrying up to six months in jail and $2,500 in fines — to intentionally obstruct, block, or impede someone's ability to enter or exit a place of religious worship, or to engage in disorderly conduct that disrupts a religious service or activity. 

That can be reasonably read as walking into a church, mosque, or temple and stage a loud protest that interrupts services. But a "place of religious worship" isn’t confined to four walls, according to the bill text: it’s any public or private location where “an organized religious service or activity is occurring or about to occur.”

The penalty jumps to a Class 6 felony — the lowest felony classification, but still a felony — if the person has a prior conviction, commits the offense “in concert” with another person, or uses force, threats of force, or physical intimidation.

The bill has Planned Parenthood Arizona sounding the alarm. Protesters often gather outside its clinics. Many of them pray. Many of them bring Bibles. Many attempt to engage — or accost — patients and staff. Would interrupting their “religious activity” make you a criminal?

The implications don't stop at reproductive health clinics: Phoenix Pride every year has a designated protest zone outside the parade, but the protests have been drowned out by loud speakers; Drag shows have drawn the ire and activity of evangelical churches, such as in Cottonwood where churchgoers formed an alliance with gun-carrying militia outside an all-ages performance. They were confronted and told to leave.

Under the bill's current language, any of those interactions could have been considered a felony depending on the police officer, county attorney, or judge handling the case. 

But even if it gets Democratic votes and passes with Hobbs' signature, it would face scrutiny in the courts.

“It is drafted so vaguely and broadly that I don't think it would withstand the simplest of constitutional challenges,” Jeremy Helfgot, longtime political and policy strategist who works with organizations in LGBTQ+ community, told LOOKOUT.

“The concept isn’t horrible,” Helfgott added. “Religious institutions should be protected, communal acts of faith should be protected, but they need to be protected in ways that are safe and effective.”

Calling it “bad policy,” Helfgot said, “I sleep well at night knowing that Hobbs is wielding the veto stamp. Anybody who looks at the language and has a solid head on their shoulders is going to see it’s just not at all tenable as a piece of legitimate policy.”

Katelynn Contreras, policy strategist at ACLU Arizona, told LOOKOUT, “People who protest political events in churches, such as Donald Trump’s recent speech at Dream City Church, could face criminal charges” if this bill becomes law. She added that people protesting abortion clinics “could receive additional protections by claiming their protest is religious activity, while counter-protestors could be charged with crimes for disrupting ‘religious activity,’ such as engaging in chants that drown out a speaker’s prayer or disrupt a vigil.”

The bill does carve out an exemption for peaceful picketing or protesting. Supporters, including the Anti-Defamation League's Desert Region, say the intent is narrowly tailored enough. 

Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills) who wrote the strike-everything amendment, told the Arizona Capitol Times that some concerns raised — such as someone reading the Bible on a public sidewalk — would not constitute a religious service or activity under the bill: "They're hallucinating," Kavanagh said of those who raised concerns.

But those carve-outs aren’t in the bill, and would ostensibly leave it up to whomever is enforcing the law to make that decision. 

That’s how Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) saw it as well. Speaking on the House Floor in February, he called the bill “dangerous on 1st Amendment grounds.” He added, “This bill sweeps far too broadly and criminalizes far too wide a class of people.”

It's not just Arizona 

HB 4117 is one of at least 22 similar bills introduced across the country during the 2025 or 2026 legislative sessions, according to the Arizona Capitol Times. The wave of legislation followed a widely circulated incident in January in which protesters disrupted a church service in Minneapolis. That brought criminal charges to two reporters, including former CNN host Don Lemon. Critics argued the feds were using religion as an excuse to target political opponents.

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On April 30, the Trump administration's Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias — established by executive order in February 2025 — published a 565-page report arguing that the Biden administration had demonstrated systemic anti-Christian bias across federal agencies. The report, chaired by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, framed prosecutions of anti-abortion protesters under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act as part of that alleged bias. The Trump DOJ has moved to curtail FACE Act enforcement, which establishes a safety perimeter around medical facilities.  

The task force's report and the Arizona bill are operating in the same current: one that frames Christian religious practice as uniquely endangered, and the legal system as a tool to protect it — even when that means expanding criminal liability for anyone who ends up on the other side of that protection.

This isn't the only place where Arizona's legislature is navigating the church-state line. Legislators are also advancing HB 2266, which, as we reported in a previous “Eyes on the State,” would require all school districts to adopt policies allowing students to be excused for religious instruction — shifting the standard from "may" to "shall". The LifeWise Academy, an explicitly evangelical Christian program whose stated mission is to "reach public school students with the gospel" during the school day, has been expanding in Arizona and has a direct interest in that legislation.

Where things stand 

Whether any amendments narrow the definition of "religious activity" enough to address critics' concerns — without making the bill so narrow it no longer does what its sponsors want — remains the central legislative tension. Meanwhile, state legislators are off for the month as budget talks have stalled. They plan to return to the Capitol in June. 

They have until June 30 to pass a budget and avoid a shutdown.

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