A protester who disrupted a Minnesota church service on Sunday has justified the act, stating it was necessary. Chauntyll Allen, the leader of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities, was part of the group that interrupted the worship at Cities Church in St. Paul. She explained to TMZ that the protest aimed to address the perceived injustices by ICE, particularly highlighting the recent shooting of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old woman, by an ICE officer, which she described as “the most graphic murder.”
The catalyst for the demonstration was the presence of a pastor named David Easterwood at the church. Allen and her group believed he was connected to the local ICE operations, sharing the same name as the acting director of ICE’s St. Paul field office.
“We found it unacceptable for someone associated with ICE, which we view as terrorizing our communities, to be preaching in a church,” Allen stated, expressing their concerns about Easterwood’s role and influence within the church.
During the protest, Easterwood was present in the church, and the Justice Department has since launched an investigation into the incident. Allen defended their actions, drawing parallels to biblical events. “I grew up in the church; my mother is a pastor. Jesus himself overturned tables when things went wrong in the church,” she said, underscoring her belief that the protest was a necessary measure to convey their message.
Easterwood was in the church at the time of the protest. The Justice Department said it is investigating the incident.
“I believe that’s what needed to be done to get the message across,” Allen said in defense of storming the church. “I mean my mother’s a pastor and so I grew up in Christianity, I grew up in the church. And one of the things I remember about Jesus Christ himself is that when things weren’t going right in the church, he went in and he flipped tables.”
Video shows a mob of anti-ICE agitators storming the church and chanting “Justice for Renee Good” inside the sanctuary.
In another clip, the person filming says demonstrators positioned themselves in the middle of the sanctuary as the pastor was speaking. The person filming then described the disruption as a “clandestine mission” and claimed agitators had just learned one of the pastors at the church was connected to ICE.
Anti-ICE agitators are seen inside the Cities Church in St. Paul. (Facebook/DawokeFarmer2)
Anti-ICE agitators in Minneapolis have taken to the streets where they have clashed with authorities in the wake of Good’s death.
Federal officials have said agents were attempting to make arrests when Good tried to use her vehicle as a weapon against officers, prompting an ICE agent to fire in self-defense.
