Leaders of St. Paul Church Consider Legal Action Against Anti-ICE Protesters Who Disrupted Sunday Service

The leaders of the St. Paul church that was the subject of an anti-ICE protest over the weekend are condemning the demonstration and considering taking legal action.In a statement on Tuesday, the leaders of Cities Church at St. Paul addressed the disruption.“On Sunday, January 18, a group of agitators jarringly disrupted our worship gathering. They accosted members of our congregation, frightened children, and created a scene marked by intimidation and threat. Such conduct is shameful, unlawful, and will not be tolerated,” the statement read. “Invading a church service to disrupt the worship of Jesus — or any other act of worship — is protected by neither the Christian Scriptures nor the laws of this nation.”The statement said the church welcomes a “respectful dialogue about present issues.” But, it said, “Church buildings are meant to be places of peace and solace, where worshipers can hear and live out this message.”The statement urged state and federal officials to protect the right of congregants to gather peacefully. The church also implied it is considering taking legal action against the demonstrators, saying, “We are evaluating next steps with our legal counsel.”The protesters disrupted the service at Cities Church on Sunday after activists said they discovered the name of one of the church’s pastors, David Easterwood, among the defendants in a lawsuit related to an ICE operation. Activists say Mr. Easterwood led the ICE field office at St. Paul. The Department of Homeland Security has declined to address whether the pastor at Cities Church is the individual who led the field office. Mr. Easterwood has denied wrongdoing in response to the allegations against him.Federal officials say they are considering charging the protesters under the FACE Act, which prohibits protesters from interfering with abortion clinics or places of worship. The 1994 law has mostly been used to prosecute demonstrators who oppose abortion access. However, in September, the Trump Justice Department used the law to sue anti-Israel protesters accused of intimidating and assaulting worshippers at a synagogue in New Jersey, which was believed to be the first time the FACE Act had been used in connection with protesters interfering with a religious service. The head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division also said that prosecutors may try to enhance the penalties by charging the protesters under the Ku Klux Klan Act. Meanwhile, President Trump called for the protesters to face jail time. “Just watched footage of the Church Raid in Minnesota by the agitators and insurrectionists. These people are professionals! No person acts the way they act. They are highly trained to scream, rant, and rave, like lunatics, in a certain manner, just like they are doing,” he wrote on Truth Social. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X on Sunday that 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.”And Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on Tuesday that arrests are “coming” and that the Trump Administration “is committed to upholding federal law and defending the rights of all Americans.”“These agitators will be held accountable,” Ms. Noem said. A co-founder of Black Lives Matter Minnesota, Monique Cullars-Doty, defended the protest, telling the Associated Press, “If you got a head — a leader in a church — that is leading and orchestrating ICE raids, my God, what has the world come to?” “We can’t sit back idly and watch people go and be led astray,” she said. Minnesota’s Democratic attorney general, Keith Ellison, told journalist Don Lemon — who was at the church during the protest and confronted one of the pastors — that the demonstration was legal because of the First Amendment’s protection for freedom of expression. The demonstration has led to dire warnings from Christian leaders around the country. The president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Albert Mohler, told Fox News, “It’s the transgression of yet another boundary. You had leftist protesters who actually invaded an evangelical church at worship, and that is without precedent.”“Those who invaded that church this past Sunday intended to send a signal: You could be next. And the intimidation tactic here is just absolutely transparent,” he said. By Wednesday afternoon, there had been no arrests reported in connection with the protest on Sunday.

Leaders of St. Paul Church Consider Legal Action Against Anti-ICE Protesters Who Disrupted Sunday Service

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