The interruption of Sunday morning church services in the Twin Cities by anti-immigrant and customs enforcement demonstrators is the latest flashpoint in escalating tensions between the Trump administration and protesters in Minnesota.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who oversees the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, announced: investigation Within hours, it condemned the protesters’ actions as “desecrating places of worship and disrupting Christian worship.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi: “Assaults against law enforcement and threats against Christians will be met with the full force of federal law.” Posted in X Late Sunday night.
Dozens of people stormed St. Paul’s Cities Church on Sunday morning, disrupting services and leading to tense confrontations. video Posted by activists, content creator show. The St. Paul Police Department said they responded to multiple reports of up to 40 protesters inside the church.
“Ice out!” chanted protesters as the lead pastor and members of the congregation confronted them.
The demonstrators said they came to protest David Easterwood, who is listed as the church’s pastor and is believed to be the same person as David Easterwood, the Twin Cities ICE officer. He was recently named as a defendant in a case. case It was sparked by demonstrators who say immigration officials violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights.
“David Easterwood, go now!” protesters at one point shouted.
Anti-ICE protests disrupt church services in Minnesota
The Justice Department has announced that it is investigating a group of anti-ICE protesters who disrupted a church service in Minnesota on suspicion that one of the church’s pastors was overseeing local ICE operations.
The protesters then moved outside and began walking down a nearby alley, police spokeswoman Nikki Muehlhausen told CNN on Monday. The incident is being actively investigated as a disorderly act, she added.
None of the videos show Mr. Easterwood in the church, and it is unclear whether Mr. Easterwood was in the building on Sunday. In response to CNN’s investigation into his relationship with ICE, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, “DHS never confirms or denies attempts to reveal the personal information of our nation’s law enforcement officers.”
In announcing the federal investigation, Dillon cited the FACE Act, a federal law that “prohibits the use of force, intimidation, or physical obstruction that injures, intimidates, or impedes any person attempting to exercise his or her First Amendment right to freedom of religion in a place of religious worship.”
He reiterated that the Justice Department is moving forward with federal charges. Post on social media Monday. He said federal agents must first obtain a warrant before making an arrest.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News on Monday that the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division had sent experts to Minneapolis. He said the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI and DHS are all involved in the investigation.
A surge in immigration enforcement around Minneapolis, known as Operation Metro Surge, has brought thousands more federal agents to the area and sparked widespread protests, especially after ICE agents shot and killed 37-year-old mother of three Renee Good on January 7.
The swift promise to investigate the protests contrasted with the administration’s response to Good’s death. The FBI quickly moved its investigation into the ICE agent who shot Goode, focusing on whether the agent had been assaulted, and the Justice Department refused to cooperate with local law enforcement in its own investigation.
Nekima Levy Armstrong, a former president of the local NAACP chapter and one of the organizers of the protest at the church, said some parishioners were unaware of Eastwood’s role as ICE director. She told CNN, “I don’t see how someone who claims to be a Christian can condone the duality of his actions and the role he plays.”
“It is unconscionable and unacceptable for anyone to claim to be serving as a pastor when the reality is that they are responsible for much of what is happening in our communities as a result of thousands of ICE agents swooping into Minnesota and the Twin Cities in particular.”
Easterwood does not have a listed phone number, and his office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Armstrong said it’s the protesters, not the authorities, who should be concerned about privacy. Additionally, the Trump administration “rolled back protections” for people to attend church by allowing federal authorities to conduct enforcement and arrests in protected locations, including churches, she said.
Cities Church did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. A St. Paul police vehicle was briefly seen parked outside the building Monday morning, but no one answered when a CNN crew rang the doorbell.
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon said he was attending the demonstrations as a journalist, not as a protester, after Justice Department officials indicated he could soon be indicted.
Dillon: “We will pursue charges” said He spoke about the protests in an interview with conservative influencer Benny Johnson. She went on to say that Mr. Lemon could not have used his role as a journalist as a “shield.”
“Don Lemon himself came out and said he knew exactly what was going to happen inside that facility. He went into the facility and then, quote unquote, he started doing journalism,” she said.
she chose lemon In the post of Xstates that it is “notifying”.
Asked for comment, Lemon told CNN in an email: “It’s remarkable that I was cast as the face of the protests I was covering as a journalist, especially since I wasn’t the only reporter there. The composition is telling.”
“More importantly, there has been a barrage of violent threats, along with homophobic and racist slurs, directed at me by MAGA supporters online and amplified by some right-wing media outlets,” he added.
Lemon, an independent journalist, reported on the protests on his YouTube channel. “I’m just here to take pictures. I’m not part of the group…I’m a journalist,” Lemon can be heard saying.
Several religious leaders condemned the impact of the protests on their congregations, but said immigrant families should be treated with compassion.
In a statement, the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention called on state and local governments to “ensure that the rule of law is consistently applied and that places of worship remain sacred places – sanctuaries” and said the protests caused “unacceptable trauma.”
“While we recognize the tensions surrounding federal enforcement, local churches are spaces for spiritual transformation and Biblical teaching, not political theater or forced condemnation,” the group said. According to , Cities Church is affiliated with this conference. its website.
But Trey Turner, executive director of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention, said there are many people who are caught in the middle. He said parishioners in churches across the state “fear that they will be raked in by a large-scale operation.” He added that other churches have canceled in-person gatherings and the tension and situation is “unnecessary.”
Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, said “no cause justifies the desecration of a sacred space,” and called on local and state leaders to prevent it from happening again, he wrote. statement. Similarly, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission said the governor should be “committed to protecting the rights of this church” and “gather without intimidation.”
The man targeted by protesters Sunday is the acting director of ICE’s field office in St. Paul, which handles removal operations. in declaration In a lawsuit filed this month by protesters, they said Easterwood has worked for ICE since 2015.
Easterwood argued in a statement that any order from the court would “further jeopardize the safety of law enforcement personnel and the public.”
Judge Katherine Menendez found that ICE agents were too eager to rein in some protesters who were chasing them in cars.
“The court carefully considered and considered Director Easterwood’s explanation of how the wardens used their vehicles to protest ICE operations in the Twin Cities,” Menendez said. I wrote. “However, even acknowledging his statements regarding the misconduct of others following Operation Metro Surge does not establish a reasonable and definite suspicion that should be suspended against these particular plaintiffs.”
Despite Easterwood’s testimony, Menendez issued largely symbolic statements. injunction It ordered agents not to detain people “engaging in low-profile protest activities, such as monitoring activities of Operation Metro Surge.”
The Department of Justice appealed this order.
Just days after taking his current position, Easterwood attended a press conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem regarding immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities.
“Our officers exemplify every day what it means to serve with honor and dedication,” Easterwood said. said In October.
“These instigators aren’t just targeting our employees; now they’re targeting churches, too,” Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CNN. She also accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of “inciting the mob to go crazy and go wild.”
With emotions running high and confrontational tactics escalating on both sides, Sunday’s protests highlight the growing tension between protecting freedom of expression and silencing voices of opposition.
“The question before us is how do law enforcement protect the rights of demonstrators to participate in activities protected by the First Amendment, while at the same time ensuring that they do not intimidate others because of whatever rights they are participating in,” CNN legal analyst Carrie Cordero said.
CNN’s Julia Vargas Jones, Sarah Moon, Even Perez, Hanna Rabinowitz and Ramisha Maruf contributed to this report.
Fix:
A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the department of the agent who shot Renee Good. It was ICE.