What happened in St. Paul on January 18, 2026 should alarm every American who still believes in the sacredness of worship and the rule of law: a mob of anti-ICE activists burst into Cities Church during Sunday service, shouting and forcing the congregation to stop their worship. This was not a peaceful protest on the public square — it was an assault on a house of worship and on the conscience of ordinary Americans who were simply trying to pray.
The federal government announced a formal review the next day, with the Justice Department opening an investigation into whether the disruption violated federal protections for houses of worship, including statutes designed to keep religious services free from intimidation. Every citizen should welcome that inquiry — if we let mobs treat churches like political stages, there is no limit to the harassment the Left will mete out to institutions it dislikes.
Protesters justified their invasion by claiming one of the church’s pastors had ties to ICE, and videos show high-profile left-wing figures among the crowd, documenting and egging on the chaos as congregants fled. This is exactly the kind of activist theater that mainstream media has normalized: identify your target online, show up en masse, and let viral outrage do the rest while the city leadership shrugs.
Republican gubernatorial hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy was right on Jesse Watters Primetime when he warned that when leaders undermine cooperation with law enforcement, chaos follows — and that is exactly what we are watching in the Twin Cities. Our country is unraveling because too many local officials prioritize political theater over protecting citizens and enforcing the law; conservatives understand that enforcing order is not tyranny, it is the foundation of liberty.
Religious leaders across the faith spectrum have rightly condemned the incident, even as some city officials tried to frame it as a community response to federal actions. Make no mistake: defending the right to protest does not license invading sanctuaries, and equivocating about mob disruptions only signals permission to the next group that wants to intimidate.
Now is the time for decisive action: prosecutors should pursue any criminal violations, churchgoers must be protected, and patriotic Americans should demand their elected officials stop making excuses for lawlessness. We will not cede our houses of worship, our police, or our streets to a radical fringe that believes law applies only to its enemies — stand firm, hold leaders accountable, and restore order for the sake of every hardworking American.
