Overview
- The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is reviewing possible charges under the FACE Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act after protesters disrupted services at Cities Church in St. Paul.
- Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon denounced the disruption as interference with worship and said federal authorities intend to bring the full force of the law.
- Cities Church says it is consulting legal counsel and alleges congregants were accosted and children frightened, while video shows protesters chanting “Justice for Renee Good” and “ICE out.”
- Organizer Nekima Levy Armstrong says the action sought dialogue about recent ICE operations in Minnesota, as legal experts note any federal case will hinge on intent, force or obstruction in a private worship setting.
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted that arrests are coming and President Donald Trump castigated the demonstrators, while CNN reported the FBI briefly opened then refocused a civil-rights inquiry related to the Renee Good shooting.