Supreme Court rules Rastafari man can't sue Louisiana prison officials who cut his dreadlocks [View all]

Source: AP

Updated 10:17 AM EDT, June 23, 2026


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday barred a former Louisiana inmate from suing prison officials who cut off his dreadlocks in violation of his Rastafari religious beliefs.

The justices condemned what happened to the former inmate, Damon Landor. But they ruled that a federal law designed to protect the religious rights of inmates does not permit lawsuits for money damages even when rights are violated.

The high court agreed with lower courts that without exception had ruled that the law, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, can’t be used to hold those who violate inmates’ rights financially responsible. The justices refused to apply the rationale from their decision in 2020 that allowed Muslim men to sue over their inclusion on the FBI’s no-fly list under a sister statute, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The Justice Department, which argued against the plaintiffs in the no-fly list case in President Donald Trump’s first Republican administration, had sided with Landor.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-prison-dreadlocks-rastafari-louisiana-f9b4d53346daee56335185542db3d4ec