Trump urges arrests after church protest in St. Paul

By Elyse Apel
The Center Square

President Donald Trump called for protestors to be “thrown in jail” following a protest which disrupted a Sunday morning service in St. Paul.

Trump’s words join the national outcry that was sparked by the protest, which quickly captured attention far beyond Minnesota.

“Just watched footage of the church raid in Minnesota by the agitators and insurrectionists. These people are professionals,” Trump posted on social media Tuesday morning. “They are troublemakers who should be thrown in jail, or thrown out of the country.”

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the protest organized in part by members of Black Lives Matter Minnesota.

Video posted by the group shows protesters chanting “ICE out” and “justice for Renee Good” during the service at Cities Church. Another video circulating on social media shows a protester calling congregants “pretend Christians” and “comfortable white people.”

Caleb Phillips, a congregant at the church, told The Center Square in an exclusive interview that the protestors were seated throughout the congregation before the service began.

“The entire congregation came alive. Individuals who are planted from front to back throughout the entire place stood up,” Phillips said. “It felt like we were surrounded, because they were all throughout the congregation.”

Reports allege the protesters discovered one of the church’s pastors works for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, calling the protest a “clandestine mission.”

The protest comes in the wake of the Jan. 7 killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good during an encounter with ICE officers conducting enhanced immigration enforcement.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of Homeland Security, said Good’s vehicle was “attempting to run over our law enforcement officers” and that an officer fired after fearing for his life. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the incident an “act of domestic terrorism.”

City and state leaders have disputed that account, saying ICE’s presence in the community has created chaos and harm. Since the shooting, Minneapolis and St. Paul have experienced widespread protests, school closures and violence.

The Twin Cities have also been embroiled in allegations of widespread welfare fraud, only adding to the tension.

Federal officials said Sunday’s protest will receive significant federal attention, as the DOJ and the FBI work together to pursue charges for federal crimes.

Some of those crimes could include civil rights violations or violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994, which prohibits obstruction or threats at abortion clinics and places of worship.

“There are already two prosecutors from my office on their way to Minneapolis,” said Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, on Monday. “There is no more sacred right in our Constitution than the right to assemble and pray to God.”

Church officials and Republicans have been responding to the protest. So far, Democrats both in Minnesota and nationally have been largely silent regarding the church protest.

Tuesday morning, Trump specifically called out Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat and the former Democrat candidate for vice president.

“The first to go should be Walz, and Fake Sleazebag, Ilhan Omar, who is supposedly worth over $30 Million Dollars, even though she’s never had anything but a Government job,” Trump posted to social media. “Investigate these Corrupt Politicians, and do it now!”

Dhillon has promised there will be serious repercussions for those involved in the protest.

“Come next Sunday, nobody should think in the United States that they’re going to be able to get away with this,” she said. “The fullest force of the federal government is going to come down and prevent this from happening and put these people away for a long, long time.”