It’s clear that the main objective of protestors in Minneapolis is to create fear among those citizens who either support ICE enforcement in their city or state no opinion at all. In a current instance, they appear to be targeting Christians.
The DAILY WIRE identified the leader of an intrusion into a St. Paul, Minnesota church on January 20, 2026, as William Kelly. Kelly has terrorized churches before. On Sunday, he and members of Black Live Matters and other protest agitators stormed the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The demonstrators, who were extremely aggressive, screamed at the church attendees, challenging their faith and using profane language to demean and intimidate them. They labeled them ” fake Christians” because congregants didn’t participate in anti- ICE demonstrations. Former CNN talking head Don Lemon was one of the agitators.
The church might have been targeted because one of the church’s pastors also serves as an ICE field director. Deputy Undersecretary of War Justin Overbaugh, immediately identified Kelly as the same man regularly protesting outside Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s church in Washington in the past year in an attempt to disrupt their services.
Joe Rigney, a founding pastor of Cities Church in St. Paul, said that the protesters have disrupted their Washington D. C. services for the past six months. From THE DAILY WIRE:
“They’ll play music or yell and scream and use bullhorns and loud sound amplification to try to prevent us from singing psalms and hearing the Word preached,” he told The Daily Wire. One member was transported to the hospital after a protester screaming into a bullhorn shattered his eardrum. Rigney said Kelly’s tactics have also included screaming obscenities at minors as families are entering the sanctuary, forcing a need for police escorts. “They’ve sought to disrupt Christian worship gatherings now in multiple places.”
Here is a link to the story on THE DAILY WIRE:
Career Activist Who Disrupted Minneapolis Worship Service Also Targeted Hegseth’s DC Church
And another story from the Baptist Press about the St. Paul intrusion:
ICE protestors disrupt Minnesota worship service | Baptist Press
One interesting side note of the story is that former CNN commentator, now a self-proclaimed “independent journalist,” Don Lemon, participated in the intrusion and disruption of the church during services. While he talked to the pastor, he claimed the intrusion was protected “under the First Amendment.”
However, Lemon is terribly wrong. He and fellow agitators were accused of violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which also protects houses of worship from interference. The FACE Act makes it a federal crime to intimidate, obstruct, or interfere with people entering or participating in religious services. The Department of Justice stated that this disruption could constitute interference with Christian worshippers, triggering potential FACE Act charges. They are strongly considering charges against Lemon and other agitators.
Lemon livestreamed the intrusion.
Penalties can include from 1 to 11 years in federal prison and fines up to $250,000. FACE has been applied in the past to protesters in front of abortion clinics. Here is one high profile case from 2020:
Trump pardoned them in 2025:
Trump pardons anti-abortion activists who blockaded clinic entrances | AP News
President Trump posted the following regarding the event on TRUTH SOCIAL:
“Just watched footage of the Church Raid in Minnesota by the agitators and insurrectionists. These people are professionals! No person acts the way they act. They are highly trained to scream, rant, and rave, like lunatics, in a certain manner, just like they are doing. They are troublemakers who should be thrown in jail, or thrown out of the Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Tuesday morning.
The incident is more evidence that protests in Minnesota are not merely peaceful but are meant to cause chaos and fear among residents of the State and, in particular, its large cities. They also intend to give the impression that ICE actions to deport illegal criminals are unpopular among citizens. The protests also coincide with federal allegations and investigations of massive fraud and corruption in Minnesota, particularly in the Somalian Community.
Church members who were attacked, especially children, were terrified by the actions of the protesters.
Parts of this article were sourced from THE DAILY WIRE
SIDE NOTE: One person confirmed to have participated in the church intrusion was Chauntyll Allen, a St. Paul Public Schools board member. Other people identified were Monique Cullars-Doty ( Associated with Black Lives Matter Minnesota) and Satara Strong-Allen, a local activist associated with several groups.
-Jan Greenhawk, Author
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