Star Tribune
Christian ‘Quest for Authentic Manhood’ instructor sues Minnesota prison leaders for program ban
For more than a decade, Anthony Schmitt led hundreds of inmates at the St. Cloud state prison through a 12-week orthodox Christian class titled “The Quest for Authentic Manhood.”
Schmitt and his colleagues say they helped more than a thousand men rehabilitate and transition back to the community through teaching them how to lead lives “of ‘authentic manhood’ as modeled by Jesus Christ and directed by the Word of God.”
That suddenly ended last year when the Department of Corrections (DOC) stopped allowing the program after finding that it “directly conflicted” with the department’s “diversity, equity, and inclusivity values” by defining manhood in a way that excluded homosexuals and cast women as “weak” and best suited as submissive to husbands in charge of households.
Schmitt, with the backing of the conservative nonprofit Upper Midwest Law Center, this week sued Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell and Assistant Commissioner Jolene Rebertus in a bid to resume the program while arguing that the DOC is violating his free speech rights.
“[Schnell and Rebertus’] actions have caused harm to Schmitt’s dignity by violating his constitutional rights and thus treating him as a lesser member of society than others with different viewpoints,” Schmitt’s lawyers wrote in a civil complaint.
DOC spokesman Aaron Swanum said the department cannot comment on pending litigation.
Rebertus, who is an assistant commissioner in charge of health, recovery and programming, notified Schmitt in July that he could no longer teach the program in St. Cloud. In an email cited in Schmitt’s lawsuit, Rebertus said that in all sessions reviewed by DOC leadership, it was “evident that throughout this curriculum, manhood can only be achieved through heterosexual relationships.”
She wrote that women were blamed for creating “soft males” and the wife’s ideal role in a marriage was to be the submissive “helper” for the male head of the household.
“While the teachings do describe the woman in this role as ‘honorable,’ the reinforced stereotypes and biases can be hurtful and downright dangerous for those participants who either committed acts of violence, domestic violence or may be victims of violence by women,” Rebertus wrote.
Schmitt’s attorneys want Senior U.S. District Judge John Tunheim to rule that Rebertus and Schnell violated Schmitt’s rights under the U.S. and Minnesota constitutions and to order them to reinstate the program and let Schmitt resume his teaching.
They point to a 2021 unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision that found the city of Philadelphia violated Catholic Social Services’ First Amendment religious rights when it stopped referring foster parents to the program over a refusal to certify parents in same-sex relationships.
“That sort of targeting of religious beliefs is unconstitutional pretty much every time,” James Dickey, an attorney for Schmitt, said Thursday in an interview. “That’s exactly what happened here, so really what we’re looking for is the application of existing precedent.”
Rebertus told Schmitt in her email last year that “just because a program identifies as a religious program does not mean the DOC must provide it.”
Schmitt’s lawyers quote scripture throughout the civil complaint, particularly when outlining Schmitt’s religious viewpoints. Schmitt, they say, believes that God created “uniquely distinct human beings” and that men and women “occupy distinctly different roles in family and society.”
The man has a “biblical command” to serve as head of the household, the lawyers write, and the “male leadership role is critically important for a healthy marital relationship, as it sets the tone for and fosters mutual respect where men are to submit to and love their wives, and women are to submit to and love their husbands.”
According to the lawsuit, Schmitt and a colleague, Bruce Robinson, began teaching the 12-week, twice weekly course in 2012 after approaching the prison’s chaplain. The course involved a blend of DVD videos and hourlong discussions.
The DVD sessions are narrated by Quest founder Robert Lewis, a pastor based in Little Rock, Ark. Schmitt and Robinson taught the program through 2020, until the COVID-19 pandemic paused all religious programming at the prison. They said they resumed the program last year and continued until Rebertus halted the program in July.
A 2018 review of the program by Charles Sutter, statewide recidivism project supervisor for the DOC, gave it high marks for supporting offender change, empathy and fairness. However, he raised concerns that a chapter titled “Remembering Dad” might violate state human rights laws by describing homosexuality as an “injury” that can be caused by growing up in a home with an absent father.
“It should be noted that, [sic] some jurisdictions are now stating that treatment that addresses homosexuality as a treatable character defect are psychologically damaging and illegal,” Sutter wrote at the time.
Schmitt’s lawsuit said that he agreed with the program’s description of homosexual acts as being sinful according to the Bible, but he decided to “fast-forward through that one small segment” of the program to avoid conflict.
“He’s clearly shown a willingness to where if it’s not going to impinge on his particular religious views, work with the DOC and we … don’t see that happening on the other end,” Dickey said Thursday.
He said Rebertus refused to reconsider halting the program after a follow-up email from Schmitt last year.
In her original message, Rebertus wrote that Quest’s “complete disregard” for identifying anyone as a “successful man” who doesn’t fit the picture outlined in its sessions “completely defies our mission of a person-centered approach to transforming lives.”
“Quest teaches participants about manhood through a lens of discrimination, exclusivity, gender biases and stereotypes that not only contradict the DOC’s mission of providing transformational programming, but can be hurtful to participants, their families, and victims,” she concluded.
“Even though there’s a lot of energy, creativity and hard work going on around downtown, never have we been more aligned in the direction we’re heading,” Duininck said.
To execute its plan, the city is convening a Downtown Action Council, a group that consists of representatives from the business, nonprofit and government sectors, including the Minnesota Vikings, Target and the Guthrie Theater.
A top priority for the group, from July 2024 to 2026, will be helping figure out the long-awaited transformation of Nicollet Mall into a pedestrian-only corridor. A task force Frey convened called the Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup made that suggestion and others for the thoroughfare back in June 2023. The city and its partners will have to determine where to move bus traffic and stops, but Frey said Marquette and Second avenues are ripe for that transition.
The plan would also focus time and resources on downtown’s Warehouse District, which Frey said “has the potential to be an entertainment Mecca.” The blocks between the North Loop and the central business district could have a social district that allows open containers, billboards and lights that help attract visitors from around the state.
“I’m not arguing that the Warehouse District is going to be like Times Square,” Frey said. “But I am arguing that we can create our own version of it right here in Minneapolis.”
Officials also emphasized efforts to make it easier for developers to convert downtown office buildings to housing and other uses. Frey touted the city’s Vibrant Storefronts initiative, which has been connecting property owners with vacant storefronts to local artists.
Star Tribune
Two more victims from encampment shootings identified as Mayor Frey says, ‘This is about fentanyl.’
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner has identified three murder victims from two separate shootings at homeless encampments this weekend in Minneapolis as three others were left with life-threatening injuries.
Christopher Martell Washington, 38, of Fridley, and Louis Mitchell Lemons, Jr., 32, of Brooklyn Center, were identified Monday afternoon as the two men who died from multiple gunshot wounds on Sunday afternoon in the 4400 block of Snelling Avenue. Deven Leonard Caston, 31, was identified as the victim at an encampment shooting near E. 21st Street and 15th Avenue S. that happened Saturday.
Minneapolis Police Spokesman Sgt. Garrett Parten, said it was unclear if there was a connection between the shootings but “we can’t rule it out.”
The city has dealt with several shootings in and around homeless encampments this year. Mayor Jacob Frey attended a news conference Sunday after the shooting on Snelling Avenue and said the city needs to continue to provide options for people seeking shelter. But, he said, encampments are not an alternative answer.
“Yet again we have more people that are dead,” he said. “We need to be honest and realistic about what is happening right now. We need to call a spade a spade. This is not about a lack of shelter. This is about fentanyl.”
Officers initially detained three people in the shooting of Washington and Lemons Jr., but were released after police found they were not believed to be involved in the shooting. No charges had been filed in either shooting as of Monday.
Ward 12 Council Member Aurin Chowdhury, who represents the area and lives nearby, was at the site of Sunday’s shooting. She said officials need information about what happened to better understand how to address situations like this long-term.
“This is an absolute tragedy, and this type of violence should never occur within our city,” she said. “It really makes me think about how we need to look at this more systemically and not just take a whack-a-mole approach and expect the problem to go away.”
Inside Paper Source, which has been in the mall since 2016, senior sales lead Carrie Helman-Menard said foot traffic has changed at the mall.
“It is quiet,” she said. “This street was a lot different even, you know, six years ago. The hobby stores down that way closed. Salut, closed. Anthropolgie, closed. J Crew, etc. There were a lot more people bustling, shopping.”
Grand, she said, can be that way again, but it “needs businesses. Needs people.”
A new development at Grand and Victoria could be just what’s needed, she said.
“People will come,” she said, pointing to her store’s customers continuing to walk through Paper Source’s door. “They get excited that something’s here. People are grateful. They’ll come in here and say, ‘Oh my god, I’m so glad you’re here.’ So that feels good. A lot of people want that hustle and bustle back.”
Simon Taghioff, president of the Summit Hill Association board, said Parritz made “an information only” presentation to the board earlier this month. Parritz, he said, shared “a lot of optimism in how it could transform that corner in a positive way.”
