In a striking escalation of ongoing protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minnesota, a group of activists disrupted a Sunday morning worship service at Cities Church in St. Paul on January 18, 2026. Agitators accused one of the church’s pastors, David Easterwood, of holding a dual role as the acting director of ICE’s St. Paul field office, claiming his involvement in the aggressive deportation tactics contradicted Christian teachings.
The disruption occurred shortly after the service began at Cities Church, a congregation affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) located on Summit Avenue in St. Paul. According to eyewitness accounts and footage, approximately 30 to 40 protesters entered the sanctuary, chanting slogans such as “Justice for Renee Good” and “ICE out.” They surrounded congregants, interrupted prayers, and confronted church members, forcing the service to end prematurely.
Homosexual and former CNN anchor Don Lemon livestreamed parts of the event on YouTube, providing real-time coverage that quickly spread across social media, highlighting the coordinated effort of this provocation. Liberal activists, including prominent figures like attorney and organizer Nekima Levy Armstrong from the Racial Justice Network, were also involved. Armstrong used to be the president of the NAACP in Minneapolis. As for the facts of the matter, it does appear that David Easterwood does or did have a dual role involving ICE.Â
The event sparked swift backlash from conservative figures and religious leaders. The Center for Baptist Leadership, which first shared footage of the disruption, called it “shocking” and an attack on Christian worship.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) quickly announced an investigation, with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division stating her office is probing potential FACE Act violations. President Donald Trump condemned the incident, assuring that “intimidation and harassment of Christians in their churches will not be tolerated.” No arrests were made at the scene, but federal charges could follow, adding incredible irony to the past prosecutions of pro-life activists under the same law.
Whether this will serve as a wake-up call for Southern Baptists has yet to be seen, but this was certainly a bad idea for liberals to disrupt a church service, both legally, optically, and cosmically.
One Response
After being asked to leave and not having done so, such protesters are trespassing, and can be arrested. Whether police there would do so, and whether a jury there would vote to convict is unknown.