# Cities Church Protest On **January 18, 2026**, during [[Operation Metro Surge]], protesters entered a Sunday service at Cities Church on Summit Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota, chanting and halting the service. Their target was a pastor, David Easterwood, who was also acting director of ICE's St. Paul field office. They wanted him to resign. The [[Department of Justice]] charged the protesters under the [[FACE Act]], which protects places of worship as well as clinics, and the Ku Klux Klan Act. Nine were indicted first. On **February 27, 2026**, the department unsealed an indictment of 30 more. Attorney General [[Pam Bondi]] posted: "YOU CANNOT ATTACK A HOUSE OF WORSHIP." The defendants include organizer Nekima Levy Armstrong, St. Paul school board member Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and two journalists who went in to cover the protest: former CNN anchor Don Lemon and Twin Cities independent reporter Georgia Fort. As of September 2026, 38 defendants had pleaded not guilty. ## The defense On August 31, 2026, the defendants filed more than five dozen motions, many seeking dismissal (MPR): - **Selective prosecution.** Similar protests at LGBTQ-friendly churches in Texas and Florida were not prosecuted, and the administration pardoned or dropped FACE Act cases against anti-abortion activists. - **Who investigated.** [[Homeland Security Investigations]] built the case, reportedly using 92 customs administrative summonses to telecom, airline, social-media and other companies. The defense argues DHS has no general authority to investigate federal crimes outside the functions Congress assigned it. - In August a judge ordered the government to turn over all grand jury materials for review. ## In ICE's own files HSI's July 23, 2026 report lists the case as **"Invasion of Cities Church"** under [[Operation North Star]], alongside voter-fraud cases and an undercover infiltration of Minneapolis rapid-response networks. It records eight grand jury subpoenas sought for people who attended a protest "pre-brief" but never entered the church. ## Why it matters The [[FACE Act]] protects clinics and churches under the same clause, so it can be enforced in either direction. This administration used it at scale against people protesting an ICE official in his own church, including two reporters, after dropping it against anti-abortion protesters at clinics. Subpoenas for people who only attended a planning meeting extend the case from conduct to association. ## See also - [[Operation Metro Surge]] · [[Operation North Star]] · [[Direct Action Minnesota Indictment]] - [[FACE Act]] · [[Homeland Security Investigations]]