A Christian man from Minnesota was ordered to pay for his free speech rights — and now he’s suing.
In a lawsuit filed by the Center for American Liberty, Bryan Conwell is accusing officials in Benson of severe First Amendment violations by placing a “price tag” on free speech after Cherie Stielow, now a city council member, forced him to purchase a commercial vendor’s license to practice his constitutionally protected right to free speech at the city’s farmers market, which Stielow facilitates.
“Government officials cannot force Americans to buy a license before they peacefully express their beliefs on public property,” Mark Trammell of the Center for American Liberty said in a statement about the case. “If they can silence Bryan today, they can silence anyone tomorrow.”
According to the legal complaint, Conwell regularly holds pro-life and Gospel-centered placards on public property and waits peacefully and silently, speaking only to those who initiate conversation with him. The suit states the Christian activist “blocks no one, threatens no one, and sells nothing,” adding, “He asks only to be left alone to speak.”
Conwell, according to court documents, initially paid the $20 fee in order to hold his signs on public property during the hours the market was operating. In 2023, when he filled out the form and complied with the financial request, Conwell “was unaware of what his rights were and was simply trying to ensure that he could convey his message,” the complaint states.
The city then allowed Conwell to be present at the market in September and October 2023, but only so long as he remained inside a vendor tent.
At the same time as the dustup with Stielow was underway, another thread of Conwell’s story was unraveling.
In late July 2023, when all this began, the street preacher stood in a grassy area near the farmers market and spoke using a sound amplifier. At about 30 minutes to an hour into his speaking, Police Chief Ian Hodge purportedly told him he was breaking the city’s 50-foot sound ordinance and needed a permit to continue, so Conwell stopped.
Then between Aug. 9 and Oct. 24 of that year, Conwell made four separate trips to city hall, where he repeatedly attempted to apply for and obtain said noise permit. According to court documents, he was seemingly given the runaround by the city clerk, who said she was not aware of any such permit. He was also told the relevant person was unavailable and on more than one occasion was asked for his contact information but received no follow-up communication.
That saga came to an abrupt end on Oct. 24, 2023, when Hodge and the city attorney informed Conwell no such permit existed.
When Conwell returned to Benson on July 9 of this year and was approached yet again by Stielow, who handed him a vendor permit and demanded $20, he declined outright, reminding her — as in 2023 — he was not selling anything and would not be paying to hold a sign and speak peacefully with people on public property. He attempted the same thing on July 16.
Conwell received a trespass citation in both 2026 instances. He now faces up to 90 days in jail and up to $2,000 in fines.
Even one of the officers who cited Conwell purportedly expressed confusion to the preacher over the city’s policy against speech that should be protected by the Constitution.
“To be honest, man, I want clarification, too,” the officer told Conwell, according to court filings. “There are crimes of trespassing and crimes of disorderly conduct, but also you have your First Amendment right, so we’ve got to try to figure that out. … I know what you’re doing, I get it. I’m glad someone is out here doing it.”
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