New Indictments Following Church Protest

On Friday, Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed that the Trump administration has charged 30 additional individuals linked to an incident at a Minnesota church during protests against ICE last month.

Bondi emphasized the seriousness of such actions, stating, “You cannot attack a house of worship. If you do, you cannot hide from us. We will find you, arrest you, and prosecute you.” She mentioned that, under her guidance, federal agents had already apprehended 25 people, with more arrests expected throughout the day.

During a protest at Cities Church in St. Paul on January 18, at least nine individuals were detained, including notable figures like former CNN anchor Don Lemon. Lemon contended that he was merely covering the event and did not face any charges.

The protests erupted when attendees discovered that one of the church’s pastors shared a name with an ICE officer. However, it’s unclear if the pastor and the ICE director are indeed the same person.

The recent indictments accuse the protestors of a “coordinated takeover-style attack” aimed at intimidating worshippers.

One child’s testimony highlighted the distress caused, indicating that “young children were made to fear that their parents were going to die,” as noted in court documents.

Doug Wardlow, an attorney for Cities Church, expressed support for the recent arrests, arguing that the First Amendment does not allow anyone, regardless of status or position, to assault a church or intimidate the families worshipping inside.

Tensions have been escalating in Minnesota, particularly with the presence of immigration agents linked to President Trump’s Operation Metro Surge, especially after the January 7 fatal shooting of Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis. Just a week after the church incident, Alex Preti was also killed by federal agents in the city.