DOJ Probes Anti-ICE Activists’ Disruption of Sunday Worship at Minnesota Church

January 21, 2026

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has started an investigation into the activists who disrupted a Sunday worship service at a Southern Baptist church in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Christianity Daily reports that demonstrators affiliated with the Racial Justice Network and Black Lives Matter Minnesota entered the Cities Church sanctuary during a Sunday service led by senior pastor Jonathan Parnell.

The demonstrators claimed that one of the church’s pastors, David Easterwood, also serves as the head of a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in St. Paul.

Easterwood’s personal details appear to match those of the David Easterwood who is acting director of ICE’s St. Paul office.

The disruption forced church leaders to end the service early as the group shouted chants of “ICE out!” and demanded accountability for Renee Good, who died after being shot by an ICE officer on Jan. 10.

Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, denounced the incident on social media, saying, “A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest!. 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 also addressed the incident publicly, saying on X, “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.”

Bondi added, “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.”

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