The Department of Justice says it is investigating an anti-ICE protest after demonstrators busted into a St. Paul church, interrupted Sunday morning services, and accused one of the pastors of working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In live stream video footage from former CNN anchor Don Lemon, about 30 protestors with the Racial Justice Network stormed into Cities Church, yelling, “Hands up, don’t shoot” and “ICE out.”
According to Fox 9, the group went to the church, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, to confront a man named David Easterwood. He is one of the pastors at the church, but also allegedly an active field officer director for ICE in Minnesota.
Public records reveal that Easterwood is listed as a defendant in a January 12 lawsuit filed by the state of Minnesota to stop ICE operations that led to the confrontation between Good and ICE agents, the Union-Bulletin reports.
In a Facebook post, protestors said they went to the church to demand justice for Renee Good and “inform the congregation of what they described as their pastor’s double-mindedness when it comes to the word of God and not loving thy neighbor with his work as a field director for ICE.”
“This cannot be a house of God while harboring someone directing ICE agents to wreak havoc on our community,” attorney Nekima Levy-Armstrong told Lemon during his livestream, explaining why the group was at the church. “I am a reverend on top of being a lawyer and an activist, so I come here in the power of the almighty God.”
Easterwood was not at Sunday’s service. However, the church’s lead pastor, Jonathan Parnell, said the disruptive display was “shameful.”
“We have asked them to leave, and they have obviously not left,” Parnell told Lemon. “This is unacceptable. This is shameful. It is shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship.”
“There is a Constitution. There is a First Amendment of freedom of speech and freedom to assemble and protest,” Lemon replied.
“We are here to worship Jesus,” Parnell responded, “that is the hope of these cities. That is the hope of the world is Jesus Christ.”
The pastor then asked Lemon to leave if he was not there to worship.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to receive the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
The DOJ is investigating the incident for potential violations of civil rights laws, including violations of the FACE Act, which prohibits the use of force to prevent people from exercising First Amendment rights at a place of worship.
“A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest! It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws! Nor does the First Amendment protect your pseudo journalism of disrupting a prayer service,” wrote Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the DOJ, on X. “You are on notice!”
The Department of Homeland Security reposted one of the videos of the protest of X, writing, “Agitators aren’t just targeting our officers. Now they’re targeting churches, too. They’re going from hotel to hotel, church to church, hunting for federal law enforcement who are risking their lives to protect Americans.”
As CBN News has reported, the DHS and Minnesota leaders have been at odds over the ICE operations.
DHS officials have claimed that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are “whipping these mobs into a frenzy and then allowing them to run rampant.” In a “60 Minutes” segment Sunday, Frey accused ICE agents of “terrorizing people simply because they’re Latino or Somali.”
Hundreds are condemning Sunday morning’s protest at the church. A White House statement issued late Sunday said the administration would not tolerate interference with worship.
“President Trump will not tolerate intimidation or harassment of Christians in their sacred place of worship. The Department of Justice has launched a full investigation into the despicable incident that took place earlier today…,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X.
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor Andrew Walker called the disruption “utterly despicable.”
“There is no constitutional right to protest a private religious assembly,” he wrote on X. “What Governor Walz and Mayor Frey have unleashed in their regime of disorder and lawlessness is shameful. God bless Cities Church.”
North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell shared on social media that he spoke with a missionary who was featured in the story. According to the witness, “the kids in the worship service were terrified.”
“For protestors to disrupt a Sunday morning worship service this way is absurd. If elected officials won’t contain lawlessness @NAMB_SBC will provide security,” he wrote on X.
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Chief of Staff Miles Mullin called the disruption a “gross violation” of the First Amendment. He added that the ERLC is asking Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison to “commit to protecting the right of this church—and all churches through Minnesota—to assemble free of threat.”
The National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), the world’s largest association of Christian communicators, is also vehemently condemning what it calls a “premeditated attack” on Cities Church.
NRB’s President and CEO Troy A. Miller said, “This outrageous assault on a house of God is a wake-up call for every American who values freedom. Christians are under siege as the most persecuted religious group in our nation, facing escalating hostility from those who seek to silence our faith. These protesters didn’t just interrupt a service, they desecrated a sacred sanctuary, frightened families, harassed innocent believers, and directly challenged our constitutional right to worship without fear or coercion. Targeting a church over a pastor’s bi-vocational role is bigotry and a blatant attack on religious liberty. The American church must rise up, unite, and fight back to defend our God-given rights.”
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has ordered 1,500 active-duty soldiers to be on standby and ready for deployment to Minneapolis to support ICE operations in the city.
PHOTO: Anti-ICE protesters rip a flag in half in a parking garage, Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
