By Staff Reporter |
Rep. Adelita Grijalva praised the invasion of a church service by anti-ICE protesters.
The protesters targeted the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, during a Sunday worship service after they learned one of the pastors, David Easterwood, was ICE’s acting field office director in Minnesota. Easterwood was not present for that service.
During the invasion of the church, Nekima Levy Armstrong claimed Christians couldn’t support immigration enforcement efforts. Armstrong’s activist group, Racial Justice Network, organized the protest.
“Someone who claims to worship God teaching people in this church about God is out there overseeing ICE agents,” said Armstrong.
Church leaders were witnessed on camera asking the protesters to leave, but the protesters refused.
Federal authorities arrested three of the activists for allegedly orchestrating the church invasion: Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and William Kelly. Their charges alleged violations of the FACE Act.
The Freedom to Access Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 (FACE Act) criminalizes the intimidation or interference of those seeking to exercise their First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem dubbed the invasion the “Church Riots.”
“Religious freedom is the bedrock of the United States – there is no first amendment right to obstruct someone from practicing their religion,” said Noem.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the Trump administration won’t tolerate disruptions of Christians’ freedom to worship.
“Attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law,” said Bondi.
Grijalva defended the church invasion. She told CNN that ICE agents deserved to be harassed. Grijalva claimed illegal immigrants undergoing deportation proceedings were being “kidnapped” and implied they had a right to be in this country.
“[T]his federal agent now knows what it’s like to have his daily life and privacy interrupted. This is a daily occurrence for our immigrant communities – being followed and kidnapped outside of schools, churches, and hospitals,” said Grijalva. “The difference is this agent got to go home at the end of the day, where many families have no idea where their loved ones are when they’ve been kidnaped off the streets.”
Grijalva also claimed ICE had deported U.S. citizens as well as veterans.
ICE has deported minors born in the U.S. to illegal immigrant parents.
DHS advised that they allow the parents to either be removed with their children, or have their children placed with another individual: this choice is left up to the parents. DHS under Trump has consistently maintained that policy.
Deportations of veterans occur in cases where those noncitizens have committed certain crimes (per the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996) or failed to follow through with the required citizenship proceedings.
Grijalva also praised the high school students who played hooky to protest deportations, characterizing the present immigration enforcement as an “overreach.”
Last month, the congresswoman claimed she was shoved and pepper sprayed by ICE agents at a protest without provocation. DHS responded with an accusation that Grijalva joined an anti-ICE mob attempting to obstruct an immigration raid. DHS later stated that two law enforcement officers were “seriously injured” by the mob that Grijalva joined.
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