U.S. Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Village of Walthill

The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against the Village of Walthill that alleges officials illegally denied a permit to build a church in the eastern Nebraska community.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court of Nebraska, alleges the village violated the law in 2017 by denying a permit sought by Light of the World Gospel Ministries, a non-denominational Christian congregation. Although village officials denied a special use permit to build a church on property it owns in a commercial area, the lawsuit claims they approved construction of nonreligious places of assembly.

Walthill is located within the Omaha Reservation.