Protesters Storm Minnesota Church Amid ICE Tensions

Sunday morning, January 18, 2026, began like any other at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Congregants gathered for worship, seeking peace and community in the heart of a city already on edge from weeks of protest and unrest. But within minutes, the sanctuary was anything but peaceful. According to The New York Post and Mediaite, a group of anti-ICE protesters from the Racial Justice Network burst into the church, chanting slogans like “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” and “ICE OUT,” and accusing one of the pastors, David Eastwood, of secretly working for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The disruption, which was livestreamed by former CNN anchor Don Lemon on his YouTube channel, forced the service to end abruptly after just twenty minutes. Lemon’s footage showed demonstrators loudly confronting worshippers, some of whom reacted with anger and fear. “These people have come into our house and they've interrupted our worship. Everybody's gone home, their point has been proven worthless and so, in the end, I think they lose,” one church attendee told The Daily Mail, expressing a sense of violation and frustration. Another older congregant, interviewed by Lemon as he left the church, acknowledged the protesters’ First Amendment rights but said, “those rights do not extend to ruining a private church service.”

The protesters’ core allegation was that Pastor David Eastwood, listed as an ICE field office employee, was moonlighting as the church’s spiritual leader. However, as Mediaite and The New York Post noted, no major news outlet has independently confirmed that the Cities Church pastor and the ICE official are the same person. Pastor Eastwood himself was not present during the protest. Lead pastor Jonathan Parnell called the demonstration “shameful” and asked anyone who wasn’t there to worship to leave, according to statements reported by The New York Post.

For many in the congregation, the experience was traumatic. Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that “the kids in the worship service were terrified.” He later told Baptist Press that he had spoken with the church’s city missionary and offered to provide security if elected officials failed to contain what he called “lawlessness.” The Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee President, Jeff Iorg, condemned the protest as “absolutely wrong on every level,” while Miles Mullin, Chief of Staff for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, called it a “gross violation” of the First Amendment and urged state leaders to protect the right to worship peacefully.

Protesters, for their part, insisted that their actions were justified. Nekima Levy Armstrong, a reverend, lawyer, and activist, told Don Lemon during the livestream, “This cannot be a house of God while harboring someone directing ICE agents to wreak havoc on our community. I come here in the power of the almighty God.” The demonstration was part of a broader wave of anti-ICE activism that has swept Minnesota since the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, by ICE officer Jonathan Ross during a protest on January 7. Protesters invoked Good’s name repeatedly, demanding justice and an end to what they described as terror inflicted on immigrant communities.

Since Good’s death, tensions in Minneapolis and St. Paul have escalated sharply. The Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded by deploying nearly 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota, as reported by The Daily Mail. The Pentagon even announced that 1,500 soldiers were on standby to support ICE operations in Minneapolis, following two additional non-fatal shootings involving ICE agents in the city, according to Baptist Press. Operation Metro Surge, the federal immigration enforcement initiative, has resulted in over 2,000 arrests and near-daily clashes between protesters, local police, and federal agents.

The political fallout has been swift and fierce. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has repeatedly defended the right to protest, telling 60 Minutes, “People in Minneapolis are speaking up. They’re speaking up peacefully. They’re standing up for their neighbors. And this is not just about resisting Trump. This is about loving and caring for people that call this city home.” But Frey has also condemned the federal government’s response, describing his city as “under siege” and likening the situation to a “military occupation.” He told CNN’s Jake Tapper, “This is ridiculous, but we will not be intimidated by the actions of this federal government.”

Federal officials, however, have painted a different picture. The Department of Homeland Security reposted videos of the church protest on X, warning, “Agitators aren’t just targeting our officers. Now they’re targeting churches, too. They’re going from hotel to hotel, church to church, hunting for federal law enforcement who are risking their lives to protect Americans.” ICE reiterated this message in an email to The Daily Mail, declaring, “We won’t be deterred. ICE isn’t going anywhere.” The Department of Justice announced an investigation into the church protest, citing potential violations of civil rights laws for “interfering with Christian worshippers.” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon confirmed that the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division would examine the incident under the FACE Act, which prohibits the use of force or threats at churches.

Political leaders at both state and federal levels have traded accusations. Trump’s Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, stated, “President Trump will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of Christians in their sacred places of worship,” while the administration launched investigations into Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Frey for allegedly impeding federal law enforcement. Walz and Frey, both prominent critics of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, have accused ICE of “terrorizing people simply because they’re Latino or Somali.” Frey even told ICE agents to “get the f**k out of Minneapolis,” a comment that has drawn both praise and condemnation from various corners.

The events at Cities Church have become a flashpoint in a much larger struggle over immigration, law enforcement, and civil liberties in America’s heartland. Local church leaders, like Chris Reinertson of Southtown Baptist Church in Bloomington, described it to Baptist Press as “a challenging time for all of us,” noting widespread fear among congregants. “I’ve had dozens of conversations with the pastors. There’s a lot of fear.” One young man’s anxiety reportedly became so severe that it triggered a case of shingles.

The confrontation at Cities Church has reignited national debate about the boundaries of protest, religious freedom, and the role of law enforcement. As the Department of Justice, ICE, and local officials continue to clash over policy and principle, ordinary Minnesotans—whether worshippers or demonstrators—find themselves caught in the middle, searching for peace amid the storm.

For now, Cities Church stands as a symbol of the tensions roiling Minneapolis and the nation: a place meant for solace and unity, thrust into the spotlight by forces far beyond its doors.