United States Attorney General Bill Barr issued a memo urging US Attorneys to be vigilant at identifying State and Local overreach while reiterating that the Constitution is NOT suspended in times of crisis.

According to Town Hall:

Attorney General Bill Barr warned Monday that even in a time of crisis “the Constitution is not suspended.”

In a memo written to U.S. attorneys, Barr urged them to watch for “state and local directives that could be violating the constitutional rights and civil liberties of individual citizens.”

The Department of Justice recently issued guidance on the First Amendment as it relates to discrimination against religious institutions after a number of churches were targeted for holding drive-in worship services that adhered to social distancing guidelines.

“The legal restrictions on state and local authority are not limited to discrimination against religious institutions and religious believers,” he said. “For example, the Constitution also forbids, in certain circumstances, discrimination against disfavored speech and undue interference with the national economy. If a state or local ordinance crosses the line from an appropriate exercise of authority to stop the spread of COVID19 into an overbearing infringement of constitutional and statutory protections, the Department of Justice may have an obligation to address that overreach in federal court.”

Barr promised that legal action would be taken against state and local authorities when and if necessary.