Overview
- Dozens of demonstrators entered Cities Church during Sunday worship, chanting “ICE out” and halting the service while targeting a pastor reported to hold a senior ICE role.
- The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced an investigation and dispatched prosecutors, with officials citing the FACE Act and related statutes as potential bases for federal charges.
- Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the US Attorney’s Office, the FBI and DHS are involved in reviewing the church incident.
- The St. Paul Police Department said officers responded after the group moved outside and is investigating the episode as disorderly conduct.
- President Trump condemned the action and urged arrests, Governor Tim Walz said protests must not interrupt worship, and the developments come during a wider ICE operation that includes an FBI review of the Renee Good shooting, a DOJ appeal of protest limits, and 1,500 troops placed on standby.