A week before the deadly Aug. 27 mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Department of Homeland Security awarded $110 million to more than 600 faith-based organizations to beef up their security.
The award is the “final round” of $210 million appropriated by Congress in the National Security Supplemental, of which $100 has been given to over 500 Jewish faith-based organizations across the nation.
“Whether they pray in a church, a mosque or a synagogue, all Americans should be able to practice their religion without fear of terrorism and violence,” a senior DHS official said in a press statement announcing the award on Aug. 19. “Under President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem’s leadership, DHS is laser-focused on ensuring the safety of the American people. Instead of using grant money to fund climate change initiatives and political pet projects, we are using this money to protect American communities — especially places where people gather in prayer.”
Highlighting concerns about violent criminals and radical organizations intent on hurting American communities, the DHS said the award administered through FEMA’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program can be used by religious groups, including churches “on security enhancements, like security cameras, additional warning and alert systems, gates and lighting, access control systems and training programs for staff.”
The late “Robin” Westman, 23, formerly known as Robert Westman before a legal name change in 2020, carried out a deadly mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church. The massacre left two Annunciation School students — Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10 — dead, and 17 others injured. Three adults in their 80s were also injured at the church. The shooter fired a barrage of bullets through the church’s window before taking his own life.
While the list of over 600 faith-based organizations that received security grants from the DHS has not been made public, the help could be a boon that some have been seeking for years.
The Minnesota Catholic Conference recently revealed that following two out-of-state school shootings in 2022 and 2023, they had asked state lawmakers to provide security funding for local non-public schools and received no help, the Catholic News Agency reported.
“We need to ensure that all our schools have the resources to respond to and prevent these attacks from happening to our schools,” Jason Adkins, MCC’s executive director, wrote in a letter to Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, both of whom are Democrats, dated April 14, 2023.
While Walz’s office stated in a response to the CNA that he “cares deeply about the safety of students” and has “signed into law millions in funding for school safety,” the publication confirmed that none of the previously signed funding bills apply to non-public schools.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis has been among many voices in the state calling for the expansion of public funding for school security to include religious schools.
“Although no legislation can stop the manifestation of evil, this Safe Schools legislation is an important, commonsense first step to establishing an ongoing funding source for schools to increase security staff, enhance building security, and strengthen violence prevention programs and mental health initiatives,” Hebda wrote in a May 2022 letter after a bill to expand the funding to non-public schools stalled.
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