Summary
A Public Witness (Word & Way) coverage of the January 18, 2026 protest inside Cities Church in St. Paul, organized by the Racial Justice Network, Black Lives Matter Minnesota, and BLM Twin Cities after activists identified pastor David Easterwood as acting director of the St. Paul ICE field office. Provides the most detailed inside account of the protest itself, including journalist Don Lemon’s interaction with lead pastor Jonathan Parnell.
Key Points
- Protest lasted approximately 23 minutes inside the sanctuary; organized after someone identified David Easterwood’s dual role (pastor + ICE director)
- Chanters: “ICE out!”, “Justice for Renee Good!”, “Hands up, don’t shoot” — whistles used (same as in other cities to warn of ICE presence)
- Lead pastor Jonathan Parnell stood at pulpit and shouted back: “Shame on you! Shame on you! This is a house of God!”
- Don Lemon was present, interviewing both protesters and parishioners; Parnell asked protesters to leave, Lemon said “I’m here as a journalist”
- After protesters left sanctuary, continued in snow chanting “Justice for our immigrant neighbors!” and “David Easterwood out now!”
- Nekima Levy Armstrong (organizer): “How dare somebody claim to be a pastor while overseeing evil”
- Parnell also serves on board of Bethlehem College and Seminary; a professor there had prayed publicly for God to “break the teeth” of ICE’s opponents
- DOJ immediately announced FACE Act investigation (same day update); SBC leaders condemned protest, pledged “protection” for the church
Newsletter Angles
- Kaylor writes for A Public Witness, a Christian journalism outlet — his perspective is explicitly theological, which gives this the best account of the religious stakes. He quotes Lutheran minister Angela Denker: “You cannot worship a Savior on Sunday who was crucified by a violent State, while the rest of the week acting as a violent agent of an unjust state force.” That’s the piece.
- The whistles detail connects to a broader tactical infrastructure: protesters in multiple cities use whistles as ICE warning systems. The church protest imported this tactic into a sanctuary. The irony is intentional.
- The Bethlehem College professor praying to “break the teeth” of ICE opponents — in a public service, at another church — is the theological framing that Easterwood’s congregation was already embedded in. This isn’t a pastor who happened to work for ICE; it’s a community with an explicit theology of state violence as righteous.
Entities Mentioned
- David Easterwood — Cities Church pastor and St. Paul ICE field office director; central figure
- Don Lemon — journalist present; subsequently arrested for being here
- Killing of Renée Good — the triggering event for the protest
- Operation Metro Surge — the operation Easterwood directs
Concepts Mentioned
- Regulatory Weaponization — DOJ using FACE Act against protesters while refusing civil rights investigation into Good’s killing
- Institutional Gaslighting — portraying the church as a victim of “attack” while its pastor oversees enforcement that killed a U.S. citizen
Quotes
“How dare somebody claim to be a pastor while overseeing evil.” — Nekima Levy Armstrong
“You cannot worship a Savior on Sunday who was crucified by a violent State, while the rest of the week acting as a violent agent of an unjust state force who is killing and targeting Americans according to hate.” — Rev. Angela Denker
“Jesus — who they claim to worship — went into the so-called houses of God, he flipped over tables.” — Nekima Levy Armstrong
Notes
This source is from A Public Witness / Word & Way, a Christian journalism publication. Kaylor is an ordained Baptist minister; his coverage is theological and journalistic simultaneously. He provides the most complete inside description of the protest. The DOJ update appended to the original piece confirms the investigation launched the same day.