US Supreme Court allows Muslim men to sue over 'no-fly' list placement

The US Supreme Court on Thursday let three American Muslim men sue several FBI agents who they accused of placing them on the government’s “no-fly list” for refusing to become informants, rejecting a challenge to the lawsuit by President Donald Trump’s administration. In an 8-0 decision, the justices upheld a lower court ruling allowing the men, all US citizens or permanent residents who were born abroad, to sue for money damages under a 1993 federal law called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The men said they refused to spy on US Muslim communities as allegedly requested by the FBI agents because doing so would have violated their religious beliefs. The 1993 law was aimed at ensuring that the government had compelling reasons to substantially burden any person’s exercise of religion. The case hinged on a part of the law that provided for “appropriate relief against a government,” without defining what type of relief may be appropriate. “The question here is whether ‘appropriate relief’ includes claims for money damages against government officials in their individual capacities. We hold that it does,” wrote conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, who authored the ruling.<br/>