The Justice Department said they are investigating am incident in which anti-ICE protesters disrupted a service on Sunday at a Minneapolis church where one of the pastors is an ICE official.<\/p>\n
Video posted online<\/a> by Black Lives Matter Minnesota shows protesters entering Cities Church in Minneapolis, where they said one of the pastors, David Easterwood, is the acting field director of the St. Paul ICE field office.<\/p>\n Easterwood was not at the church at the time of the protest, according to Black Lives Matter Minnesota. Jonathan Parnell is the church’s pastor and can be seen talking to the protestors in the video.<\/p>\n “Someone who claims to worship God, teaching people in this church about God, is out there overseeing ICE agents. Think about what we’ve experienced,” a protestor tells the congregation inside the church in the Black Lives Matter Minnesota video.<\/p>\n Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a press conference at the Justice Department in Washington, December 4, 2025.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Koscielniak\/Reuters<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “I just spoke to the Pastor in Minnesota whose church was targeted,” Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X<\/a> Sunday. “Attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law.”<\/p>\n “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,” Bondi’s post continued.<\/p>\n Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon likewise said they are investigating the incident.<\/p>\n “This heinous act that occurred in Minnesota yesterday is receiving the highest level of attention from @TheJusticeDept,” Dhillon posted<\/a> on X. “@AGPamBondi & I are working around the clock, because no right in our Constitution is more sacred than the freedom to assemble & pray to God.”<\/p>\n Dhillon also said<\/a> that they were investigating the church protest as “potential violations of the federal FACE Act.” The Freedom to Access Clinic Entrances Act of 1994<\/a> makes it a federal crime to intimidate or interfere with any person “seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship,” or attempting to obtain or provide reproductive health services. The legislation was prompted by violent crimes that were being committed against abortion providers and those seeking their services.<\/p>\n “At approximately 10:40 a.m. on Sun. Jan. 18, Saint Paul Police officers responded to Cities Church on the 1500 block of Summit Ave. following multiple calls reporting approximately 30 to 40 protesters who interrupted church services,” the St. Paul Police Department told ABC News in a statement.<\/p>\n US Border Patrol agents stand guard at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 8, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Charly Triballeau\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “By the time officers arrived on scene, the group had moved outside the church and began to walk down the alley. Saint Paul Police continued to monitor the protest,” the statement concluded.<\/p>\n The Cities Church website<\/a> lists Easterwood as one of their pastors. Easterwood also appeared with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during an Oct. 24 news conference<\/a> in Minneapolis, where Noem identified him as an ICE acting field office director in the region who is with Enforcement and Removal Operations.<\/p>\n Easterwood also is one of several parties, including Noem, named in a class action lawsuit<\/a> filed last week by the ACLU alleging “unlawful policies and practices” by ICE in Minnesota, including racial profiling and arrests without warrants or probable cause.<\/p>\n ICE\u00a0blamed the disruption on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, saying on social media that they \u201care responsible for whipping these mobs into a frenzy and then allowing them to run rampant.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Governor has repeatedly and unequivocally urged protesters to do so peacefully,” a spokesperson for Walz told ABC News in response to a request for comment. “While people have a right to speak out, he in no way supports interrupting a place of worship.\u201d<\/p>\n Frey had not publicly addressed the church protest as of early Monday afternoon. He did post a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on X, to mark Monday’s federal holiday commemorating the late civil rights leader.<\/p>\n \u201c’Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ Dr. King said it best. On MLK Day, I\u2019m thinking about his call to stand up for justice, love others, and speak out when power goes too far. As the federal gov moves the opposite way, we\u2019ll keep standing with our neighbors,” Frey posted<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"civil](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/f27b5fbf-0cca-43d5-8dd0-bbeb39a36346\/pam-bondi-1-rt-gmh-260119_1768849052028_hpMain_4x3.jpg?w=375 "\\"civil")
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>![\"director](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/e907b812-3ef1-4ba8-9880-f442172fbba2\/minn-6-gty-gmh-260119_1768848177676_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"director")
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>