Trump officials investigate protesters who interrupted Minnesota church service, targeting ICE official

By Andy Rose, Elise Hammond, CNN

(CNN) — A Sunday morning church service in the Twin Cities interrupted by anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters is the latest flash point in escalating tensions between the Trump administration and demonstrators in Minnesota.

“Attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law,” Attorney General Pam Bondi posted to X last Sunday night.

Dozens of people rushed into Cities Church in St. Paul Sunday morning, interrupting the church service and leading to tense confrontations, videos posted by activists and content creators show.

“ICE out!” protesters shouted as they were confronted by the lead pastor and congregants.

The demonstrators said they were there to protest David Easterwood, who is listed as a pastor at the church and appears to be the same David Easterwood who is a top ICE official in the Twin Cities. He was recently named as a defendant in a case brought by protesters who allege immigration agents had violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights.

“David Easterwood, out now!” protesters yelled at one point.

None of the videos show Easterwood in the church, and it’s unclear if he was in the building on Sunday. In response to CNN’s inquiry about his connection to ICE, a DHS spokesperson responded, “DHS will never confirm or deny attempts to dox our law enforcement officers.”

Federal investigation promised

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon announced an investigation within hours, calling the protesters’ actions “desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers.”

Dhillon cited the FACE Act, a federal law that “prohibits the use or threat of force and physical obstruction that injures, intimidates, or interferes with a person seeking to … exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.”

She reiterated the Justice Department is pursuing federal charges in a post on social media Monday. She said federal officials must first obtain a warrant before making arrests.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News on Monday that the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has sent experts to Minneapolis. The US Attorney’s office, the FBI and DHS are all involved in the investigation, he said.

A surge in immigration enforcement around Minneapolis, known as Operation Metro Surge, brought thousands of additional federal agents to the area and prompted widespread protests, especially after a Border Patrol agent fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, on January 7.

The swift promise to investigate the demonstration stood in contrast to the administration’s response to Good’s death, as the Department of Justice quickly quashed an inquiry and refused to cooperate with local law enforcement agencies on their own investigation.

Nekima Levy Armstrong, a former president of the local NAACP chapter and one of the organizers of the protest at the church, said some parishioners were unaware of Eastwood’s role as an ICE director. She told CNN she doesn’t “know how anyone who claims to be Christian could condone his behavior and the dual nature of the roles that he plays.”

“The reality is that it’s unconscionable and unacceptable for someone to claim to serve as a pastor while also being responsible for a lot of what is happening here in our community as a result of thousands of ICE agents descending upon the state of Minnesota and the Twin Cities in particular.”

Easterwood does not have a listed phone number, and requests for comment sent to his office were not immediately answered.

Armstrong said protesters — not officials — are the ones who should be concerned about being doxed. Further, she said the Trump administration has “rolled back protections” for people to attend church, by allowing federal officials to perform ICE actions in protected spaces, including churches.

“As a result of the fear and trauma that they have inflicted, people aren’t even going to church on Sundays who are immigrants,” she said. “And yet peaceful protesters who go into a privileged, predominantly White church to help them understand what’s going on are being demonized — that’s unacceptable, it’s unconscionable and we’re not going to stand for it.”

Cities Church has not responded to CNN’s requests for comment. A St. Paul police vehicle was briefly seen parked outside the building Monday morning, and no one answered when a CNN crew rang the doorbell.

Other faith leaders criticize protests

Several other faith leaders have denounced the impacts of the protests on the congregation, while saying migrant families should be treated with compassion.

The Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention called for state and local officials “to ensure that the rule of law is applied consistently and that our houses of worship remain sacred—sanctuary spaces” and said the protests caused “unacceptable trauma,” according to a statement.

“While we recognize the tensions surrounding federal enforcement, the local church is a place for spiritual transformation and biblical teaching, not a platform for political theater or coerced denouncements,” it said. Cities Church is affiliated with the convention, according to its website.

The head of the North American Mission Board, Kevin Ezell, said there is “no cause” that “justifies the desecration of a sacred space” and called for local and state leaders to make sure it doesn’t happen again, according to a statement. Similarly, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention said the governor should “commit to protecting the right of this church” and “to assemble free of threat.”

Who is David Easterwood?

The man targeted by protesters Sunday is the acting field office director in St. Paul for Enforcement and Removal Operations at ICE. In a declaration filed in this month’s lawsuit by protesters, Easterwood said he has worked for ICE since 2015.

Easterwood argued in his statement any order from the court would “further endanger the safety of law enforcement personnel and the public.”

Judge Katherine Menendez found ICE agents had been overzealous in pulling over some demonstrators who were following agents in vehicles.

“The Court has carefully considered and weighed Director Easterwood’s account of how vehicles have been used by observers to protest ICE activity in the Twin Cities,” Menendez wrote. “But, even crediting his statements about incidents of misconduct among other people following Operation Metro Surge, it simply does not establish reasonable, articulable suspicion to stop as to these particular plaintiffs.”

Despite Easterwood’s testimony, Menendez issued a largely symbolic injunction ordering agents not to detain people “who are engaging in unobtrusive protest activity, including observing the activities of Operation Metro Surge.”

Just days after taking his current position, Easterwood appeared alongside Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a news conference on immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities.

“Our officers demonstrate every day what it means to serve with honor and dedication,” Easterwood said in October.

“Agitators aren’t just targeting our officers. Now they’re targeting churches, too,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CNN. She also blamed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey “for whipping these mobs into a frenzy and then allowing them to run rampant.”

With emotions running high and confrontational tactics escalating on both sides, Sunday’s protest highlights the growing tension between protecting free expression and silencing opposing voices.

“The question that we’re coming to is how law enforcement is going to protect the rights of protesters to engage in their First Amendment-protected activity, and at the same time not be intimidating other people for whatever rights they are engaged in,” CNN legal analyst Carrie Cordero said.

CNN’s Julia Vargas Jones, Sarah Moon, Even Pérez and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.