In United States v. Jiang, (ED VA, Feb. 6, 2025), a Virginia federal district court ruled on several technical and procedural issues raised in pre-trial motions by a defendant indicted, among other charges, for attempted forcible obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs in violation of 18 USC §247. According to an AP report on an earlier aspect of the case:
Prosecutors say Jiang intended to shoot congregation members of the Park Valley Church in Haymarket in September 2023. He was arrested during Sunday services at the church, armed with a handgun and other weapons, after a former girlfriend called police and alerted them to disturbing social media posts he made.
According to authorities, Jiang had recently joined to the church but indicated that he was mad at God and at men for blocking him from having romantic relationships with women. He left behind a “final letter” in which he said he intended to only shoot and kill men and apologized in advance for any women who might be "collateral damage."
The court held that while §247 refers to obstructing "any person in the enjoyment of that person's free exercise of religious beliefs," it is sufficient that the indictment identified defendant's victim as “the congregants of Park Valley Church,” rather than identifying each individual.
The court also rejected defendant's argument that since he did not remove a firearm from his waistband while at the church until law enforcement instructed him to do so, he could not be charged with the aggravated offense of attempting to kill church members
