On Sunday, radicals participating in a so-called “ICE Out Action” stormed a Christian church in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The group included ex-CNN host Don Lemon and members from Nekima Levy Armstrong’s Racial Justice Network, Black Lives Matter Minnesota, and BLM Twin Cities.
The interlopers targeted the church after learning a pastor had connections to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They intimidated parishioners, drowned out worship with propaganda, and pressured attendees to condemn ICE.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison stated on Monday that the Department of Justice is preparing criminal charges under the Freedom of Access to Clinics Entrances Act and KKK Act for the disruption. When asked whether the DOJ has a case against the anti-ICE radicals who disrupted religious worship in a place of faith, Ellison said: “Under this DOJ, wrongdoing has nothing to do with whether they’re going to focus or investigate you.”
Rep. Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat and co-sponsor of a resolution to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, defended the action during a CNN appearance. She stated that protesters had the right to enter churches after discovering an ICE-affiliated pastor: “When they find out that someone supposed to be speaking for the community in church is found out to be in ICE… they have the right to go in there.”
Christian leaders condemned the incident as a desecration of sacred space. Pastor Paul Chappell, president of West Coast Baptist College, said: “We condemn the actions of Don Lemon and the group of activists who stormed Cities Church today in St. Paul, Minnesota, in clear violation of the FACE Act.” Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, added: “This group trespassed on private property and willfully obstructed Christian worship. No cause — political or otherwise — justifies the desecration of a sacred space.”
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon stated that federal criminal charges are imminent: “We don’t want to prejudge, but I think it is fair to say that I saw multiple federal criminal incidents yesterday. We will not let this happen to another church in the United States. It is un-American, unacceptable, and there is a zero-tolerance policy for it at this DOJ.”
