Collin County judge dismisses EPIC lawsuit over sidewalk Christian preaching, free speech

The sidewalks outside the East Plano Islamic Center became the latest flashpoint in Plano’s wider fight over faith, speech and public space. A Collin County judge dismissed EPIC’s lawsuit in late March 2026, ending the mosque’s bid to block Christian evangelists from preaching, handing out pamphlets and speaking on the public property outside its doors.

EPIC filed the case in October 2025 against Testimonies of God, Heritage Grace Community Church, Jason Osborne and 20 unnamed defendants. The mosque alleged the group had begun a weekly practice in September 2025 of standing outside the building with loudspeakers and bullhorns, along with a tent, external speakers, signs and pamphlets. EPIC said the activity disrupted Friday prayer services and asked the court to stop distribution of pamphlets, letters, flyers and other material the center considered “offensive to the Islamic faith.”

The dismissal came under Texas’ anti-SLAPP law, which is designed to protect speech on matters of public concern from lawsuits meant to chill expression. In this case, the ruling favored the defendants’ argument that Gospel outreach on a sidewalk is protected speech, even when it is loud, unwelcome and aimed directly at people entering a house of worship.

The case landed in a community already consumed by the broader fight over EPIC’s 400-plus-acre development in Collin and Hunt counties, first known as EPIC City and later called The Meadow. The project, described as a 402-acre plan in unincorporated Collin and Hunt counties about 40 miles northeast of Dallas, has drawn state scrutiny and at least five investigations from Texas officials. Public controversy began in February 2024, escalated after a Collin County public hearing on March 31, 2025, and continued into 2026 as state leaders pressed to block permits and development activity.

The sidewalk dispute gave that larger conflict a more immediate, neighborhood-level edge. For worshippers at the Plano mosque, the issue was whether Friday prayers could proceed without outside interruption. For nearby residents and anyone using the public right of way, the ruling underscored that sidewalks remain open to speech, even when that speech is aimed at a single faith community. And for any church, mosque or other religious group trying to keep a site secure, the decision drew a hard boundary: safety measures may be pursued, but control over public sidewalks is a different matter.