“What I would say here is we have a situation where rights were violated, those rights have to be protected,” said Renee Carlson, the church’s legal representative.
By Catholics for Catholics
The Church that was invaded by anti-ICE protestors in St. Paul, Minnesota is weighing if it will litigate the alleged transgressors who disturbed a Sunday worship service.
According to a story by The Daily Wire, the Department of Justice detained three activists who interrupted the service on Jan. 18: Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and William Kelly. They were charged by federal authorities under a law that prohibits blocking entrance to houses of worship and related conspiracy statutes for interfering with constitutionally protected religious rights.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and other DOJ officials and civil-rights leadership depicted the action as enforcement of federal protections for places of worship, emphasizing that disrupting a service violates federal law.
🚨 The pastor of Cities Church in St. Paul (where anti-ICE agitators, including Don Lemon, stormed a Sunday service) is standing firm:
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) January 26, 2026
“The church will continue to evaluate their legal options.” pic.twitter.com/xU562cyqnh
“If you protested and went into that church on the Sunday and you terrorized the parishioners, we are coming after you. … We are coming after you if you participated in that,” Bondi said. “I don’t care who you are. If you’re a failed CNN journalist, you have no right to do that in this country. We don’t live in a third world country. We’re going to protect our houses of worship in this country.”
“The JusticeDept will identify & hold accountable every person who unlawfully interrupted this church service,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon “@AGPamBondi. “And I will not tolerate harassment of Americans at worship—especially from agitators posing as ‘journalists.”
The church’s legal representative, Renee Carlson, General Counsel for True North Legal, told Fox & Friends, “What I would say here is we have a situation where rights were violated, those rights have to be protected, and there is a law here that can be accessed to ensure those protections. We are thankful that the Department of Justice is moving swiftly to make sure that happens, and the church will continue to evaluate their legal options to make sure that churches in Minnesota, and especially Cities Church, are protected.”
Last week, Carlson issued a statement in which she said, “The First Amendment does not allow premeditated plots or coordinated actions to violate the sanctity of a sanctuary, disrupt worship, and intimidate small children. There is no ‘press pass’ to invade a sanctuary or to conspire to interrupt religious services. The Constitution protects citizens from threats against fundamental rights by the government, but it also requires government to protect those same rights when they are jeopardized by private actors.”
Religious liberty was violated today as Anti-ICE protestors interrupted a Christian church in Minneapolis, shouting and shaming parishioners during worship.
— Catholics for Catholics 🇺🇲 (@CforCatholics) January 19, 2026
It's shameful to see Don Lemon and other media calling practicing Christians 'fake' and assuming that Jesus would be… pic.twitter.com/ZMrPlCboFk
Save and Share This Catholic Patriotic Minute!
