The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating after a group of activists in Minnesota disrupted a Sunday service at a Southern Baptist church in St. Paul, where a local official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement allegedly serves as a pastor.
The protesters, including members of the Racial Justice Network and Black Lives Matter Minnesota, entered the sanctuary of Cities Church during the service led by senior pastor Jonathan Parnell. The protesters allege that one of the church’s pastors, David Easterwood, leads a local ICE field office in St. Paul.
They reportedly chanted slogans such as "ICE out!" and demanded justice for Renee Good, the woman who died after being shot by an ICE officer on Jan. 10. The service was forced to conclude because of the disruption.
U.S. Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon vowed on social media Sunday that the agency is investigating the incident for “potential criminal violations of federal law.”
“A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest!” Dhillon wrote. “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. You are on notice!”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said she has been in touch with the church’s pastor.
“I just spoke to the Pastor in Minnesota whose church was targeted. Attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law,” she wrote on X.
“If state leaders refuse to act responsibly to prevent lawlessness, this Department of Justice will remain mobilized to prosecute federal crimes and ensure that the rule of law prevails.”
The church’s website lists David Easterwood as a pastor. Easterwood’s personal information seems to match a David Easterwood identified in court filings as the acting director of the ICE St. Paul field office, the Associated Press reports, adding that he appeared alongside Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem at an October press conference.
The protests in Minnesota come amid growing tensions over federal immigration enforcement operations, particularly following Good's death and ongoing ACLU lawsuits alleging aggressive ICE tactics. Last week, President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 in a bid to restore order amid ongoing riots against ICE officials in Minneapolis after a second ICE-involved shooting on Wednesday night.
Speaking with journalist Don Lemon, Parnell called the interruption “shameful.”
“This is unacceptable. It's shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship,” Parnell said. “We are here to worship Jesus. That’s why we are here.”
