The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation after activists disrupted a Sunday worship service at a Southern Baptist congregation in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The incident occurred at Cities Church, where demonstrators affiliated with the Racial Justice Network and Black Lives Matter Minnesota entered the sanctuary during a Sunday service led by senior pastor Jonathan Parnell. Protesters claimed that one of the church’s pastors, David Easterwood, also serves as the head of a local ICE field office in St. Paul.
According to reports, the group shouted chants such as “ICE out!” and demanded accountability for Renee Good, who died after being shot by an ICE officer on Jan. 10. The disruption forced church leaders to end the service early.
On Sunday, Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, said on social media that federal authorities are reviewing the matter for “potential criminal violations of federal law.”
“A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest!” Dhillon wrote. “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 she had personally contacted church leadership.
“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 wrote on X.
She 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.”
Cities Church lists David Easterwood as a pastor on its website. According to the Associated Press, Easterwood’s personal details appear to match those of a David Easterwood identified in court filings as the acting director of ICE’s St. Paul field office. The report also noted that he appeared alongside Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, at an October press conference.
In comments made to journalist Don Lemon, Parnell described the disruption as deeply inappropriate.
“This is unacceptable. It's shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship,” Parnell said. “We are here to worship Jesus. That’s why we are here.”
