Not long after the Renee Good tragedy, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz took to the airwaves to appeal to his state’s citizens. Normally, one would assume he wanted calm restored, security for all, and safety to prevail. Instead, Walz, already the subject of lengthy investigations into COVID fraud in his state, decided that Good’s death might be a useful way to distract people. Having already announced he would not seek a third term, the former vice-presidential candidate feared a federal investigation of the scandal could further complicate his situation. Speaking on Jan. 14, Walz said:
“News reports simply don’t do justice to the level of chaos and disruption and trauma the federal government is raining down upon our communities.
“Two-to-three-thousand-armed agents of the federal government have been deployed to Minnesota.
“Armed, masked, undertrained ICE agents are going door to door, ordering people to point out where their neighbors of color live.
“They’re pulling over people indiscriminately, including U.S. citizens, and demanding to see their papers.
“And at grocery stores, at bus stops, even at schools, they’re breaking windows, dragging pregnant women down the street, just plain grabbing Minnesotans and shoving them into unmarked vans, kidnapping innocent people with no warning and no due process.
“Let’s be very, very clear: This long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement.
“Instead, it is a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”
This hyperbolic rant, filled with inaccuracies, and misrepresentations, precluded a church invasion a few days later that deserves far more attention than the media has provided. Measuring the extent to which Walz’s speech contributed to the brazen protest is impossible to estimate. However, the demonstration itself serves as a stark reminder that the protests against ICE have, through various means, crossed acceptable boundaries, and that Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and other prominent civic leaders should indeed face critical examination of their responsibility in this deteriorating situation.
The most recent tragedy includes the death of a 37-year-old man, Alex Pretti, a nurse and U.S. citizen. The Trump administration’s policies and excesses in this whole affair aside, how do Walz, Frey and the Democratic establishment in Minnesota bear no burden for what has happened? Former president Barack Obama and his wife have accused Trump of wanting to escalate the situation needlessly. There remains plenty of room for criticism of Trump officials. Still, before this latest incident, following Good’s death, an important episode in this ongoing saga saw a group of protesters inside a Minneapolis church on Jan. 18. What were they doing there? What motivated their actions? Who was involved? How did it happen?
This article relies on information drawn from Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, which oversees church plants in North America. City’s Church in Minnesota, where the protest occurred, exists under this Board, an organ of the Southern Baptist Convention. Ezell spoke directly with Jonathan Parnell, the church’s pastor, about the demonstration. Parnell expressed his profound astonishment at the presence of protestors, and Don Lemon, a former CNN anchor, subsequently confronted him. In the words of Ezell, the church was about to start its second service when a group of people, already seated, received a prompt or cue to interrupt the pastor. Ezell did not address the rumour that an assistant pastor was an ICE agent, but it later proved true (the pastor was at church, not enforcing ICE laws when this interruption occurred). Regardless, targeting evangelical churches because progressives believe they support Trump should alarm those interested in freedom of worship. (It received little notice in the dominant media until Lemon’s arrest allowed the journalist class to highlight Trump’s assault on a free press).
With the church service broken up, Lemon asked the pastor if he was going to deal with the protestors, dialogue with them, or possibly offer support for their cause (interfering with ICE agents and helping to obstruct them from doing their work). Progressives operate under the belief that their actions, even those that involve disregarding legal statutes or hindering a constitutionally protected freedom, are permissible when undertaken in service of a grander cause, the definition of which they reserve for themselves. Parnell reacted with admirable restraint, telling Lemon, “This is unacceptable, it’s shameful. It’s shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship. I have to take care of my flock.” Nothing happened organically (it was staged), and it reveals an ongoing pattern in Minnesota and other blue jurisdictions. They don’t want immigration laws enforced. They don’t want federal officials in their areas, and they believe protests can turn violent or obstructive as needed. And they brook no argument that suggests you pay for what you take. As Charles C. Cooke reminded listeners on National Review’s (NR) podcast of The Editors, “You are allowed to refuse to obey the law, to say that your conscience is superior. But then you have to accept that the civil authorities will arrest and punish you.” Or as William Buckley Jr. often said on Firing Line, if the American Revolution had failed, the King would have hanged the founders. Making ICE the villain does not mean protestors or their leaders can do what they want with impunity.
Lemon seeks attention. He may have earned more than he wants. Under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), both abortion clinics and places of religious worship are protected spaces. No one can block or interfere with people conducting regular activities. Lemon and his crew face charges for this and may also ironically face charges under the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, which allows the President to use federal troops and suspend habeas corpus to protect civil rights and prosecute conspirators. Brittany Bernstein, reporting for NR, wrote, “And, to no one’s surprise, Lemon has failed to take any accountability for his involvement in the protest, including doubling and even tripling down, by calling the congregants ‘privileged’ and suggesting that they only feel entitled to worship in peace because they are white.” He also quickly dissociated himself from the disruptors, claiming he was only there as a journalist. (Don Lemon Just Happens to Make it to Church on Time). Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon had some news and advice for Lemon on X: “A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest! It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws! Nor does the First Amendment protect your pseudo journalism of disrupting a prayer service… You are on notice.” He now faces charges. Kamden Mulder, in NR, wrote: “Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents late Thursday and charged with federal civil rights crimes, according to the Department of Homeland Security.” He claims he was present as a journalist; the legal system will sort this out. Freedom of assembly and worship are part of the constitutional protections guaranteed. The anti-ICE contingent cares little for others’ rights and even less for accepting the consequences of their illegal actions.
This matter has many villains and few heroes. The Trump administration badly needed to get someone in charge who could oversee this situation with tact and diplomacy. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem failed. Border Czar Tom Homan will bring professionalism and broad experience to a situation worsened by poor administration guidance and ethical failings by Minnesota leaders. Criminals need to be arrested and deported if they are here illegally. The state government needs to step up and collaborate with the feds. The governor and mayor, badly stained by the Somali scandal, either should resign or pass the responsibility along to an underling who won’t inflame emotions or feed violent activities. When churches become pawns in demonstrations, something has gone wrong. Here, ICE protestors have betrayed their motives and shown themselves to be nothing more than professional activists, paid for their outrage and part of a well-planned effort to obstruct, interfere, and impede.
Dave Redekop is a retired elementary resource teacher who worked part-time at the St. Catharines Courthouse as a Registrar until being appointed Executive Director at Redeemer Bible Church in October 2023. He has worked on political campaigns since high school and attended university in South Carolina for five years, earning a Master’s in American History with a specialization in Civil Rights. Dave loves reading biographies.
