The Minnesota church embroiled in a recent controversy is making a plea for the safeguarding of worship spaces after anti-ICE protesters disrupted a Sunday service, vocally confronting parishioners. The incident, which quickly gained attention online, took place at Cities Church in St. Paul amid accusations that the pastor collaborated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
During the service, demonstrators began chanting anti-ICE slogans, criticizing attendees for allegedly not opposing federal immigration enforcement efforts enough, particularly those targeting individuals in the region without legal status.
This disruption was met with a firm response from the church. Pastor Jonathan Parnell, whose sermon was interrupted, released a statement on Tuesday addressing the unsettling events. “They accosted members of our congregation, frightened children, and created a scene marked by intimidation and threat,” Parnell stated on the church’s website. “Such conduct is shameful, unlawful, and will not be tolerated.”
He further emphasized that “invading a church service to disrupt the worship of Jesus — or any other act of worship — is protected by neither the Christian Scriptures nor the laws of this nation.” The incident has sparked widespread discussion, prompting the church to call on leaders to ensure that places of worship remain secure and respected.
“They accosted members of our congregation, frightened children, and created a scene marked by intimidation and threat,” Jonathan Parnell, the pastor whose service was interrupted, said in a statement posted to the church’s website. “Such conduct is shameful, unlawful, and will not be tolerated.”
“Invading a church service to disrupt the worship of Jesus — or any other act of worship — is protected by neither the Christian Scriptures nor the laws of this nation,” he added.
Parnell said the church welcomes respectful dialogue about current issues but that “the realness of Jesus” provides “the only final answers to the world’s most complex and intractable problems.”
In one video, an anti-ICE agitator is seen walking around the church service, asserting that “all these pretend Christians, all these comfortable White people… are living lavish, comfortable lives, while children are dragged into concentration camps.”
Cities Church is seen in St. Paul, Minn. where anti-ICE agitators shut down a service claiming the pastor was also working as an ICE agent, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 in St. Paul, Minn. (Angelina Katsanis/AP Photo)
“You are a fake Christian,” he said. “You’re sinners.”
Christian leaders have condemned the incident and have demanded action from the government. The Trump administration has vowed to look into the matter.
“I just spoke to the Pastor in Minnesota whose church was targeted. Attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
“If state leaders refuse to act responsibly to prevent lawlessness, this Department of Justice will remain mobilized to prosecute federal crimes and ensure that the rule of law prevails,” she added.
Parnell said the church was evaluating its next steps with legal counsel.
“Church buildings are meant to be places of peace and solace, where worshipers can hear and live out this message,” he said. “We therefore call on local, state, and national leaders to protect this fundamental right.”
