The federal government showed backbone this week when agents arrested William Kelly — the TikTok agitator known as DaWokeFarmer — after he helped lead a mob that stormed a Minnesota church and then publicly dared Attorney General Pam Bondi to come and get him. Americans who cherish religious liberty and public order breathed a sigh of relief when law enforcement moved decisively instead of letting mob rule become the new normal.
Video and eyewitness accounts made it unmistakably clear that a coordinated group burst into a Sunday service at Cities Church in St. Paul, shouting “ICE out” and accusing a pastor of working for immigration authorities while disrupting worshippers. This was not polite protest or civil discourse — it was a targeted interruption of religious practice that chills the free exercise rights every American holds dear.
Kelly’s own social media only underscored the contempt these activists have for law and decency; he taunted federal officials and boasted about confronting congregants, daring Bondi to arrest him after the footage went viral. That kind of bravado — backed by harassment inside a sanctuary — should not be rewarded with celebrity or impunity, and it’s right that prosecutors treated the conduct as a federal civil-rights matter.
Federal authorities say Kelly and others face serious charges, including conspiracy to deprive rights and violations tied to obstructing religious exercise, reflecting the gravity of storming a house of worship. The swift arrests announced by the Attorney General’s office and the FBI sent a necessary message: churches are off-limits to political intimidation and the rule of law will be enforced.
Conservatives should welcome this enforcement not out of vindictiveness but out of principle — protecting churches and private citizens from lawless mobs is a core function of government. When leaders like Pam Bondi and Homeland Security officials publicly back prosecutions, it reinforces that elected officials still have a duty to defend constitutional freedoms against violent, performative activism.
Let this episode be a warning to the left’s performative outrage industry: patriotic Americans will not cede their sanctuaries or their streets to thuggery masquerading as righteousness. We should demand consistent enforcement, hold organizers accountable, and renew our commitment to protecting faith and order in every community across this country.
