A federal jury awards $667K to Muslim men who were pepper-sprayed by prison guards while praying

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (AP) — A federal jury on Monday awarded $667,000 in damages to a group of Muslim men incarcerated in Missouri who were pepper-sprayed by state correctional officers while praying.

The lawsuit in eastern Missouri’s U.S. District Court alleged that the men had been allowed to pray together many times in their prison housing unit after the chapel was locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The money will be distributed among eight men who were handcuffed, pepper-sprayed and placed in solitary confinement after praying in the housing area at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre on Feb. 28, 2021.

Those who were placed in solitary confinement at the 2,684-bed facility were left without access to soap or running water to wash off the pepper spray, and some resorted to washing their faces with toilet water, according to the lawsuit.

The men were initially charged with a major conduct violation for “acts of organized disobedience” by three or more offenders. That was later reduced to a minor violation. They were found guilty and released from segregation on March 10, 2021.

The CAIR Legal Fund and the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Missouri filed a civil lawsuit against Missouri correctional officers in 2023, saying they used excessive force and violated the men’s constitutional right to practice their religion, then showed deliberate indifference to serious medical needs.

The jury ruled in favor of the incarcerated men on all counts.

The Missouri Department of Corrections did not immediately return a request seeking comment on the judgment early Monday evening.

“Being a Muslim in America should not lead to one being subjected to excessive force or religious persecution,” said Nadia Bayado, an attorney for the plaintiffs with the CAIR Legal Defense Fund. “I am overjoyed for our clients, and I hope this verdict brings them and their families solace.”