Staff ReportsAmericans woke up this week to video of activists barging into Cities Church in St. Paul mid-service, chanting “ICE out” and demanding “justice for Renee Good” while families and children were forced to flee. What was supposed to be a sanctuary for worship was treated like a political theater, and the outrage is real because the federal government has opened a civil-rights probe into the incident.
The Justice Department’s civil-rights division has signaled it will investigate potential violations of the FACE Act that protects worshippers from force, threats, and obstruction in places of religious worship. Conservatives should cheer one thing: laws designed to protect worship and basic decency must be enforced, not sidelined when the mob has the right politics.
It’s telling that mass-media figures and left-wing organizers were not only present at the scene but appear to have coordinated the disruption, with a local BLM leader openly claiming involvement and footage showing high-profile reporters documenting and participating in the action. This wasn’t a spontaneous outcry — it was an organized political operation aimed at intimidating a church because someone alleged a pastor had ICE ties.
Instead of calming things down, Washington’s new law-and-order team has promised to “come down hard” on agitators who invade houses of worship, and rightfully so; allowing mobs to treat churches like campaign stops would be a surrender of the rule of law. For patriots who value religious liberty, that promise can’t be mere rhetoric — it must lead to prosecutions that restore deterrence and protect congregations.
This incident is part of a broader cultural rot where grievances are weaponized and common-sense policies are painted as hate: social media mobs urging boycotts based on a designer’s race, public shaming when retailers lock up high-theft items to protect staff, and hysterical claims that dating apps are racist for offering user preferences. The result is a nation where ordinary Americans are punished for trying to live peacefully while activists treat institutions as battlegrounds.
If we’re serious about protecting churches, families, and neighborhoods, conservatives must demand consistent enforcement of federal law and refuse to be browbeaten by the performative outrage industry. Call out the double standards, support lawful investigation, and stand with worshippers whose sanctuaries were turned into political scare zones — this is about faith, safety, and the future of civic order in America.
