Minneapolis has turned into a war zone over immigration enforcement.
Protesters have attacked federal agents, blocked arrests, and burned American flags for two weeks straight.
And Scott Bessent exposed one ugly fact about Europe that proves Trump is right about Greenland.
Racial Justice Network Storms Cities Church in St. Paul Hunting ICE Director
About 30 protesters with the Racial Justice Network burst into Cities Church in St. Paul during Sunday morning service chanting "ICE out" and "Justice for Renee Good."
The mob was hunting for David Easterwood, one of the church's pastors who also serves as acting field office director for ICE in Minnesota.
Easterwood wasn't at the service, but that didn't stop the protesters from storming the sanctuary and disrupting worship for 23 minutes.
Lead pastor Jonathan Parnell called the demonstration "shameful" and asked anyone not there to worship to leave.
They refused.
Nekima Levy-Armstrong, who led the protest and claims to be a reverend herself, told ousted CNN host Don Lemon during his livestream that the church "cannot be a house of God while harboring someone directing ICE agents to wreak havoc on our community."
The Department of Homeland Security reposted video of the church invasion and warned that agitators "aren't just targeting our officers."
"They're going from hotel to hotel, church to church, hunting for federal law enforcement who are risking their lives to protect Americans," DHS wrote.
DOJ Launches FACE Act Investigation Into Minnesota Church Invasion
The Department of Justice immediately launched an investigation into potential violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
The FACE Act makes it a federal crime to use force, threats, or physical obstruction to interfere with anyone "lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship."
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon announced her agency is investigating federal civil rights violations "by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers."
"A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest," Dhillon posted on social media.
"It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws."
Attorney General Pam Bondi weighed in personally, promising that any violations of federal law would be prosecuted.
DOJ senior advisor Alina Habba went even further, telling Fox News that investigators will examine "everybody" connected to these protests.
"If you are funding mass protests, if you are having protests that are not righteous protests … but that are putting people in risk, not allowing people to go to church, this Department of Justice will come down on you," Habba stated.
First-time FACE Act violators face up to one year in prison and $100,000 in fines.
Repeat offenders can get three years and $250,000.
Biden Administration Ignored 1,384 Church Attacks While Prosecuting 55 Pro-Life FACE Act Cases
Here's the scandal nobody in the media wants to talk about.
Between January 2018 and December 2024, over 1,384 acts of hostility against churches were documented across America including arson, vandalism, violent interruptions of Mass, and armed attacks.
The Biden administration prosecuted 55 defendants under the FACE Act during that period.
Not a single prosecution involved attacks on churches.
Every single one targeted pro-life advocates praying outside abortion clinics.
House Judiciary investigations revealed 436 church attacks in 2023 alone with zero FACE Act prosecutions.
Catholic churches bore the brunt with more than 500 attacks.
Pro-abortion activists stormed St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York during Easter Vigil mass, running to the altar shouting "Free Palestine."
They were arrested and released the same day without bail.
No federal charges followed.
Armed incidents at churches more than doubled from 12 in 2023 to 28 in 2024, according to the Family Research Council.
The Trump administration is making it crystal clear those days are over.
Since Kirk's assassination on September 10th, Trump has taken an aggressive stance on domestic terrorism targeting churches and federal law enforcement.
The message from Attorney General Bondi is unmistakable: violate the FACE Act by storming a church, and you're going to federal prison.
Not catch-and-release like the Biden years.
Real consequences with real prison time.
Black Lives Matter Minnesota co-founder Monique Cullars-Doty dismissed the investigation as "misguided" and asked "what has the world come to" when a church leader can oversee ICE operations.
She's about to find out what happens when you interrupt Christian worship services and the Trump DOJ actually enforces federal law protecting churches.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Governor Tim Walz have defended the protests that shut down their city.
Frey accused ICE of "terrorizing people simply because they're Latino or Somali" during a 60 Minutes interview Sunday.
DHS fired back that Walz and Frey are "whipping these mobs into a frenzy and then allowing them to run rampant."
Trump has already threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesota won't stop the violent ICE rioters.
Now the DOJ is going after the church invaders with federal criminal charges that carry serious prison time.
The Trump administration just sent a message to every leftist mob planning to storm churches: try it and see what happens.
Sources:
- Caitlin McCormack, "Mob storms Minnesota church during worship to target pastor they say has ICE ties," New York Post, January 18, 2026.
- "DOJ vows to press charges after activists disrupt church where Minnesota ICE official is a pastor," CNN, January 18, 2026.
- "Protesters interrupt St. Paul church service, citing pastor's ICE role," Twin Cities Pioneer Press, January 18, 2026.
- Arielle Del Turco, "Hostility Against Churches Is on the Rise in the United States," Family Research Council, December 2022.
- "436 Church Attacks in 2023, Zero Prosecutions under the FACE Act, Notes House Hearing," Washington Stand, December 19, 2024.
- "The FAQs: What Should Churches Do When Protest Enters the Sanctuary?" The Gospel Coalition, January 19, 2026.
- "DOJ probes FACE Act violations after anti-ICE protesters storm Minnesota church," Fox News, January 19, 2026.
