Cities Church Lead Pastor Jonathan Parnell has addressed the protest that occurred outside his church on Easter Sunday where one protester was arrested.
“State law protects the right of people of faith to worship in peace, and I call on state and local officials to enforce the law,” Parnell said in an X post, referring to the charges being dropped against the protester.
He explained what occurred outside the church that morning. “On Easter morning, April 5, nearly 20 protesters gathered in the green space on Summit Avenue in front of the entrance to Cities Church. They held signs with obscenities and yelled harassing comments at families and individual worshippers. Among them was a speaker blasting music and amplified sound, and at least one protester who used a voice-amplifying device to harass people,” he wrote.
On Easter morning, April 5, nearly 20 protesters gathered in the green space on Summit Avenue in front of the entrance to Cities Church. They held signs with obscenities and yelled harassing comments at families and individual worshippers. Among them was a speaker blasting music…
— Jonathan Parnell (@jonathanparnell) April 6, 2026
Emily Heather Phillips, 33, of Stevens Point, Wis., was arrested and cited with four misdemeanor counts including disorderly conduct, interrupting a religious observance, knowingly participating in a noisy assembly, and continuing to disturb the peace.
At a hearing on Monday in Ramsey County District Court, Judge Maria Mitchell dismissed all charges against Phillips, citing “no probable cause,” according to court documents.
Phillips was released on Monday and greeted by a crowd of protesters chanting, “Protesting is not a crime, we will say it every time.”
However, a St. Paul police spokesperson told the Star Tribune the charges were dismissed because of a “procedural error” and that they plan to resubmit the case.
Phillips has a Patreon where subscribers can pay a monthly fee to “discuss current events and how we can push the movement forward.” On a different occasion, she called ICE agents “f—ing Nazi pieces of s—” and said to one agent, “You f—ing race traitor.”
“She was practicing her First Amendment right to peacefully assemble on a public Minnesota street,” William Kelly, who helped lead the original anti-ICE disruption inside Cities Church on Jan. 18, said in an interview. “The process is the punishment.”
“Shame on the St. Paul Police Department and Mayor [Kaohly] Her for allowing this to happen,” added activist Nekima Levy Armstrong.
Both Armstrong and Kelly were arrested for their roles in the mob that stormed the church in January and are facing federal charges, along with dozens of others.
Video of the Easter protest shows music booming from a loudspeaker and protesters yelling at churchgoers.
“Enjoy your Easter baskets, kids, while there’s kids in cages down the road,” one screamed at people walking in. “Your parish should be embarrassed, you’re worshipping pedophiles.”
Video from the protest posted to activist Derek Torstenson’s Instagram account shows a St. Paul Police officer warning the protesters that if their yelling and shouting could be heard inside the church building once the service started, they would be in violation of the law and would be arrested.
“We have enough to arrest you right now,” the officer speaking to the protesters said to Phillips prior to her arrest. “But we’re going to give you grace.”
Torstenson then started leading the group in chants and taunted the officers, “Oh, is that too loud for you?” He is another serial protester who raises money on GoFundMe to finance his activism while he is jobless due to “mental health issues.”
Protesters have reportedly been outside Cities Church every Sunday since Jan. 18 but this is the first arrest to take place despite churchgoers being “harassed” and “hounded.”
Hayley Feland
Hayley Feland previously worked as a journalist with The Minnesota Sun, The Wisconsin Daily Star, and The College Fix. She is a Minnesota native with a passion for politics and journalism.
