St. Paul, Minn. (BP) | U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says she has spoken to a Minnesota pastor following a disruption by protestors during Cities Church’s morning worship service Jan. 18.
“Attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law,” Bondi wrote on X late Sunday night.
“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,” she said.
In a statement released Monday morning (Jan. 19), North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell said, “North American Mission Board (NAMB) missionary Jonathan Parnell was leading worship services this Sunday at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn., when a group of protesters forcibly disrupted worship, barging into the church building and violating the sanctuary by shouting, blowing whistles, and intentionally interrupting ongoing services.”
According to former CNN anchor Don Lemon’s Instagram page, Nekima Levy Armstrong led a group of protestors into the church because one of the church’s pastors also works for the Department of Homeland Security.
In a livestream on YouTube, Lemon moves through the church sanctuary for around 30 minutes interviewing Parnell, Armstrong and unidentified service attendees.
At one point, Lemon seems to indicate the protestors have First Amendment rights to protest in the church.
The Associated Press reported that one of the church’s pastors leads an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Minneapolis.
Ezell said the group’s action was not a protest, but “lawless harassment.”
“This group trespassed on private property and willfully obstructed Christian worship. No cause – political or otherwise – justifies the desecration of a sacred space or the intimidation and trauma inflicted on families gathered peacefully in the house of God,” he said.
Tensions have been high in Minneapolis following the shooting of a woman Jan. 7 who appeared to be moving her car toward an ICE agent. Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem said the SUV driven by Renee Good, 37, was impeding the arrests the agents were making.
FOX9 in Minneapolis reports that more than 2,000 arrests have been made since the beginning of Operation Metro Surge.
Protestors have been clashing with local police and ICE agents on a daily basis.
The protest inside Cities Church Jan. 18 is the first known protest inside a church building since the DHS operation began.
Calling it a “gross violation” of the First Amendment, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Chief of Staff Miles Mullin said, “The sanctity of church services should be inviolable. In America, the state has a responsibility, not just to let people gather to worship, but to protect people who are peacefully assembling to exercise their constitutional right to worship.”
Mullin called on Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to “denounce the protests that interrupted services today and to commit to protecting the right of this church – and all churches through Minnesota – to assemble free of threat.”
DOJ Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dillon posted on X Jan. 18, “The @CivilRights is investigating the potential violations of the federal FACE Act by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers.”
In the NAMB statement, Ezell thanked the DOJ for their response to “to determine whether federal laws were violated when protesters interfered with worship and desecrated this sacred space.”
He also thanked local law enforcement’s “swift and decisive response” to the disruption of the church service and called on “state leaders in Minnesota to ensure that order is restored and that egregious events of this nature are not permitted to happen again.”
Ezell says Parnell serves as a city missionary with Send Network, NAMB’s church planting arm, and has worked with dozens of churches.
“He is a faithful servant with a deep love for the Gospel and for his city, having devoted his life to sharing the love of Jesus with all who call the Twin Cities home,” Ezell said.
“He was doing exactly what he has been called to do – leading worship and caring for God’s people – when this disruption occurred.”
Ezell pledged to “fully support” the church moving forward.
“We will do whatever is necessary to protect those who serve faithfully and to uphold the right of churches to worship without fear or interference,” he said.