Federal agents executed arrests on January 22, 2026, taking into custody prominent civil-rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong and two others in connection with a coordinated disruption of a Sunday service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The action by the Justice Department followed footage and reports showing the protesters entering worship and interrupting the congregation, a disturbing assault on a sacred space that the government says reached the level of conspiracy to intimidate worshippers.
Video and eyewitness accounts show the group chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” confronting a pastor who also serves in a federal immigration role — Pastor David Easterwood, identified as an ICE field office leader. What began as a protest against federal immigration enforcement crossed a line when it invaded a church service, weaponizing grief and politics to silence worshippers.
Authorities did not stop at one arrest: federal officials named Chauntyll Louisa Allen, a St. Paul school board member, and William Kelly, a social-media personality, among those detained alongside Armstrong. These are not anonymous agitators; they are organized actors who planned to disrupt the spiritual life of their neighbors, and their public profiles make the brazenness of the stunt all the more chilling.
The swift intervention from the Department of Justice and public announcements from federal leaders signaled that attacks on places of worship will not be tolerated, as Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI officials moved quickly to hold organizers accountable. This is the right response from a law-and-order standpoint: when political protest becomes intimidation inside a church, the state must step in to defend the fundamental rights of worship and assembly.
Leaders from the church and conservative legal advocates praised the arrests, arguing that protecting houses of worship from politically motivated mobs is essential to preserving religious liberty and public order. Americans who cherish faith and the rule of law ought to be thankful that federal authorities treated this as a serious civil-rights violation instead of shrugging it off as another partisan protest.
Make no mistake: this incident is symptomatic of a dangerous culture that excuses harassment when it wears the veneer of activism. Conservatives should be unapologetic in defending churches, synagogues, and mosques from intimidation, and we must demand consistent enforcement of the law regardless of the political goals behind the disruption.
Our communities deserve better than theatrical attacks on worship disguised as moral outrage; pastors and parishioners have the right to pray without fear of being ambushed by organized mobs. Now is the time for principled Americans to stand up for religious freedom, support law enforcement’s efforts to prosecute clear violations, and call out the double standard that too often protects the powerful agitator while blaming the victims.
If liberty and faith mean anything, they mean that no group gets to stage a political raid on a sanctuary and walk away with applause from the media or cover from public officials. Defend our churches, uphold the rule of law, and hold those who weaponize protest against worship accountable — that is how a free and decent society responds.
