St. Paul church considers legal action against anti-ICE activists who 'jarringly disrupted' service

Paul Walsh, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 20, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — The leaders of a St. Paul church are contemplating legal action against the activists who disrupted a Sunday service after the intruders determined one of the pastors works as the acting director of ICE’s field office in St. Paul.

A statement released on Jan. 20 by Cities Church to the Minnesota Star Tribune said “the group of agitators jarringly disrupted our worship gathering. They accosted members of our congregation, frightened children and created a scene marked by intimidation.”

The statement said the ambush, which included Minneapolis civil rights activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, was “shameful, unlawful and will not be tolerated. 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."

Houses of worship, the statement continued, “are meant to be places of peace and solace, where worshipers can hear and live out this message. We therefore call on local, state and national leaders to protect this fundamental right.”

David Easterwood, a pastor at Cities Church, is named in a pending class action lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Minnesota for aggressive tactics used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the agency’s long-running crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

Easterwood was not leading the Sunday service. Lead pastor Jonathan Parnell was confronted by the activists. In a video of the protest, Parnell can be heard telling activists, “Shame on you.”

Activists in the pews, including members of Black Lives Matter Minnesota, chanted “justice for Renee Good,” the Minneapolis woman who was fatally shot Jan. 7 by an ICE agent, as they stood up in the middle of the sermon.

Local independent journalist Georgia Fort and former CNN host Don Lemon were looped in ahead of the protest and reported from the sanctuary.

On Jan. 20, Armstrong demanded during a news conference that Easterwood step down as a church leader. “Someone help me understand how it’s possible to hold both roles with integrity, with honor, because the gospel that I believe in, the foundation, says that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves,” said Armstrong, who is also a reverend.

Gov. Tim Walz’s office issued a statement to Fox News saying “he in no way supports interrupting a place of worship.”

Another officeholder, State Rep. Leigh Finke, DFL-St. Paul, expressed the opposite in a social media post, declaring, “Actions like this — nonviolent resistance in the face of government inaction or oppression — are essential. And they must continue until I.C.E. is out of our state, the administration is out of the White House, and dignity and humanity for all of our neighbors is achieved."

Looking ahead, church leadership said, “We are evaluating next steps with our legal counsel.”

St. Paul police told the Star Tribune that the activists totaled 30 to 40 in number and are being investigated for disorderly conduct.

Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice, called the demonstration “un-American and outrageous” and said she contacted U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI to investigate the protesters.

On Jan. 20, the protest organizers demanded during a news conference that Easterwood step down as a church leader.

“Someone help me understand how it’s possible to hold both roles with integrity, with honor, because the gospel that I believe in, the foundation, says that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves,” said Armstrong, who is also a reverend.

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(Elliot Hughes and Kim Hyatt of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.)

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