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Rastafarian man can’t sue prison guards who shaved him bald, US Supreme Court says

The US Supreme Court refused on Tuesday to let a Rastafarian man sue state prison officials in Louisiana after guards held him down and shaved…

By Samantha Johnson / June 23, 2026

The US Supreme Court refused on Tuesday to let a Rastafarian man sue state prison officials in Louisiana after guards held him down and shaved him bald in violation of his religious beliefs in a case brought under a federal law protecting incarcerated people from religious discrimination.

The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling powered by its conservative majority, upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss Damon Landor’s lawsuit, agreeing that he could not sue the individual prison officials and guards for monetary damages under the statute at issue.

Landor’s religion ‌requires him to let his hair grow.

“I am disappointed but not defeated,” Landor said in a statement provided by his lawyers. “What happened to me violated my faith and my dignity. I will continue pursuing accountability. What happened to me should not happen to anyone else.”

The Supreme Court’s three liberal justices dissented from the ruling, which was written by conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Once again, we see a court that will bend over backward for the religious freedom of Christians, but allows the government to ‌trample the ‌religious freedom of non-Christians

Rachel Laser, advocacy group CEO

The law at issue, called the Religious Land Use and Institutionalised Persons Act of 2000, or RLUIPA, prohibits religious discrimination by state and local governments in land-use regulations and also protects the religious rights of people confined to institutions such as prisons and jails.

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