Attorney General Pam Bondi is threatening federal prosecution against protesters who interrupted a St. Paul church service, accusing a pastor of having a secret affiliation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as per The Hill. This situation is escalating quickly, and the Department of Justice is making it crystal clear they won’t stand for disruption in places of worship.
Bondi immediately took to X to announce she had spoken with Jonathan Parnell, the leader of Cities Church. Protesters had interrupted Parnell’s sermon Sunday to specifically accuse David Easterwood, another pastor at the church, of being affiliated with ICE. Bondi warned that attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are going to be met with the full force of federal law.
She even issued a pointed warning to local officials, saying that if state leaders refuse to act responsibly to prevent lawlessness, the Department of Justice will remain mobilized to prosecute federal crimes and ensure that the rule of law prevails.
Tensions are at an all-time high in Minnesota streets
So, who exactly is the focus of the protest? Pastor David Easterwood is currently listed as a pastor on the Cities Church website. However, Easterwood was named acting director of ICE’s St. Paul Field Office back in October, even appearing at a press conference in Minneapolis alongside Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. This is a massive conflict of interest if the accusations are true.
Lawyer and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong weighed in on the situation, saying, “This man is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, masquerading as a pastor.” Interestingly, when the Department of Justice was reached for comment, ICE did not actually confirm whether Easterwood is an ICE officer.
This church incident isn’t happening in a vacuum, of course. Tensions have been extremely high in the Twin Cities ever since an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good, a U.S. citizen, earlier this month. Protests against the agency’s presence have been erupting ever since that tragic death.
The Trump administration and local Democratic officials have been clashing heavily over the federal enforcement presence. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have both criticized the administration’s surge of federal immigration enforcement into the area. While they’ve called on protesters to demonstrate peacefully, the Department of Justice seems to think their actions are obstructive.
The DOJ issued subpoenas for Governor Walz and Mayor Frey just last Friday as part of an inquiry into whether they are obstructing federal law enforcement. To top it all off, President Trump even threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act over the ongoing unrest in Minneapolis. That law allows the president to deploy the military or federalize state National Guard members to contain an internal rebellion.
Published: Jan 20, 2026 12:30 pm