An anti-ICE protest disrupted the morning worship service at Cities Church, St. Paul, Minn., on Sunday morning (Jan. 18). Former CNN anchor Don Lemon livestreamed a portion of the event from inside the church building on YouTube.
Protesters could be heard chanting, “Hands up, don’t shoot” and “ICE out” throughout the video.
According to Lemon, the protesters interrupted the opening prayer of the Sunday worship service.
The protesters were alleging one of the church’s pastors was a member of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within the Department of Homeland Security, Lemon said on the video.
After a violent week in the Twin Cities, the Associated Press reported Sunday that the Pentagon announced it was putting 1,500 soldiers on standby to potentially report to Minneapolis to support the ongoing ICE operation in the city.
Last week, ICE agents were involved in two non-fatal shootings while apprehending suspects.
FOX9 in Minneapolis reported that more than 2,000 arrests have been made since the beginning of Operation Metro Surge.
Protesters have been clashing with local police and ICE agents on a daily basis.
In a post on X, North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell wrote, “This church is pastored by @sendnetwork city missionary in Minneapolis-St. Paul. For protesters to disrupt a Sunday morning worship service this way is absurd. If elected officials won’t contain lawlessness @NAMB_SBC will provide security.”
Ezell said he had spoken with the missionary following the service. He reported “the kids in the worship service were terrified.”
SBC Executive Committee President Jeff Iorg condemned the protest, calling it “absolutely wrong on every level.”
In a statement released Sunday, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Chief of Staff Miles Mullin said, “The sanctity of church services should be inviolable. In America, the state has a responsibility, not just to let people gather to worship, but to protect people who are peacefully assembling to exercise their constitutional right to worship.”
Calling the disruption a “gross violation” of the First Amendment, Mullin said the ERLC is asking “Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to denounce the protests that interrupted services today and to commit to protecting the right of this church — and all churches through Minnesota — to assemble free of threat.”
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor Andrew Walker called the service’s disruption “utterly despicable.”
“There is no constitutional right to protest a private religious assembly,” Walker posted on X. “What Governor Walz and Mayor Frey have unleashed in their regime of disorder and lawlessness is shameful. God bless Cities Church.”
In a story last week, Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention Executive Director Trey Turner told Baptist Press, “There are many strong opinions throughout our churches.”
“Please pray for those who struggle with fear. One young man I know worried for his family so much that his immune system went down and he got shingles. Pray for people to look to God and find peace in Jesus,” he said.
Associational mission strategist Chris Reinertson called it “a challenging time” for churches in the Twin Cities Metro Baptist Association.
“It’s been really a challenge for all of us,” said Reinertson, pastor of Southtown Baptist Church in Bloomington, a suburb of Minneapolis. “I’ve had the privilege to reach out to them over the last few days. I’ve had dozens of conversations with the pastors. There’s a lot of fear.”
— Brandon Porter serves as vice president for communications at the SBC Executive Committee.