(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Federal prosecutors are investigating potential violations of federal law after a group of anti-ICE rioters disrupted a church service in Minnesota on Sunday.
The incident marked a sharp escalation in protests targeting the presence of federal immigration officers in the state.
This morning, protesters disrupted a worship service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, interrupting a sermon to protest the pastor’s ties to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Local activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, who is affiliated with Black Lives Matter, was… pic.twitter.com/aq5XyeydVw
— Upward News (@UpwardNewsHQ) January 19, 2026
Video of the protest was captured by former CNN anchor-turned-social media personality Don Lemon, who described the actions as a “clandestine mission.”
The DOJ probe was announced on X by Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, who said the FBI is also investigating the incident.
“The @CivilRights is investigating the potential violations of the federal FACE Act by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers,” Dhillon wrote.
The @CivilRights is investigating the potential violations of the federal FACE Act by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers. @AGPamBondi https://t.co/uZBBv1iuuH
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) January 18, 2026
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act criminalizes the use of force, threats or obstruction to interfere with individuals seeking to obtain or provide “reproductive health services,” as well as others seeking to “exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.”
According to Fox 9 Minneapolis, the protest was organized by the Racial Justice Network and targeted Cities Church in St. Paul.
Activists claimed the church’s pastor, David Easterwood, also serves as the acting field office director for ICE in Minnesota.
Headline USA could not independently verify whether the church’s Easterwood is the same individual holding the ICE position.
Easterwood did not lead the part of the service that was livestreamed, and it was unclear if he was present at the church Sunday.
In a Jan. 5 court filing, Easterwood defended ICE’s tactics in Minnesota such as swapping license plates and spraying protesters with chemical irritants. He wrote that federal agents were experiencing increased threats and aggression and crowd control devices like flash-bang grenades were important to protect against violent attacks. He testified that he was unaware of agents “knowingly targeting or retaliating against peaceful protesters or legal observers with less lethal munitions and/or crowd control devices.”
“Agitators aren’t just targeting our officers. Now they’re targeting churches, too,” the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency stated. “They’re going from hotel to hotel, church to church, hunting for federal law enforcement who are risking their lives to protect Americans.”
Oh, you won’t believe this one, a pastor in Saint Paul had his church service disrupted by protesters because it turns out he’s working directly with ice.
David Easterwood should be banished from the church for life because Jesus would not be on the side of ICE. pic.twitter.com/DyqQI7VydW
— MAGA Cult Slayer🦅🇺🇸 (@MAGACult2) January 19, 2026
The church’s lead pastor, Jonathan Parnell, condemned the disruption and defended the congregation in remarks to Lemon.
“It’s shameful to see anyone interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship,” said Parnell. “I have to take care of my church and my family.”
Nekima Levy Armstrong, who participated in the protest and leads the local grassroots civil rights organization Racial Justice Network, dismissed the potential DOJ investigation as a sham.
“When you think about the federal government unleashing barbaric ICE agents upon our community and all the harm that they have caused, to have someone serving as a pastor who oversees these ICE agents, is almost unfathomable to me,” said Armstrong, who added she is an ordained reverend.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
