On January 18, 2026, a mob of anti-ICE agitators burst into Cities Church in St. Paul in the middle of a Sunday service, interrupting worship and terrifying congregants who had come to pray. Video and eyewitness accounts show the group shouting and accusing the church of harboring ties to immigration enforcement, then following worshippers into the parking lot as they tried to leave.
The Department of Justice announced a civil-rights probe almost immediately, saying it would examine whether the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances statute — which protects houses of worship from force, threats and obstruction — was violated. Senior DOJ advisors on the Fox & Friends set made clear the administration will not tolerate intimidation of Christians or interference with religious exercise.
Attendees reported that some protesters attempted to block cars and trap parishioners in the lot, behavior that moves well past peaceful protest and squarely into intimidation and harassment. This wasn’t a spontaneous outpouring of grief over policy; it was organized agitation aimed at silencing fellow Americans inside their house of worship.
Meanwhile, local officials in Minneapolis have reflexively defended or downplayed the militants, framing them as peaceful community organizers even as footage shows clear disruption and threats. That kind of moral cowardice from city leadership only encourages more lawlessness and sends a message that churches and ordinary citizens will be left to fend for themselves.
Across Washington, Trump administration officials moved fast to condemn the assault on religious liberty — Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed the DOJ would come down hard, and White House spokespeople promised protections for worshippers. Even members of Congress like Rep. Byron Donalds slammed Minnesota leaders for failing to defend public safety and religious freedom, arguing forceful federal action is warranted when cities tolerate mob rule.
Patriotic Americans should be disgusted that radical activists would storm a church to score political points, and they should demand that prosecutors do their jobs and hold these perpetrators accountable on January 18 and beyond. Reports that the mob believed a pastor had ties to ICE remain unconfirmed in key respects, which only illustrates how dangerous rumor and outrage can be when weaponized by the left’s protest machine. If we allow churches to be picketed into silence and worshippers to be terrorized in their own parking lots, we will have betrayed the very freedoms conservatives fight to protect.
