Federal authorities say they will pursue charges, potentially under the federal FACE Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act, in connection with a protest that disrupted a St. Paul church service Sunday.
The Jan. 18 protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, which was livestreamed by former CNN personality Don Lemon, saw anti-ICE activists storm the sanctuary during worship and disrupt the service with chants such as “Justice for Renee Good” and “Hands up, don’t shoot.”
The demonstration was organized in response to allegations that a Cities Church pastor had ties to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Protesters accused the church of enabling immigration enforcement carried out by ICE — a federal law enforcement agency.
“This is unacceptable, it’s shameful,” the lead pastor of Cities Church, Jonathan Parnell, said to Lemon during his livestream. “It’s shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship.”
A video from the disruption appears to show a frightened child clinging to an adult as activists shouted inside the sanctuary.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon stated on X that her office is “investigating the potential violations of the federal FACE Act by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers.”
Dhillon also stated the protest may fall under the Ku Klux Klan Act — a Reconstruction-era civil rights statute.
JUST IN: Assistant AG for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon suggests the Ku Klux Klan Act may be used on the agitators who stormed the Minnesota church.
In the same interview, Dhillon said Don Lemon was not necessarily protected from prosecution because he calls himself a… pic.twitter.com/6rCqBZx8rR
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 19, 2026
“The Klan Act is one of the most important federal civil rights statutes,” Dhillon said. “It makes it illegal to terrorize citizens, to violate their civil rights, to get together and conspire to violate their civil rights.”
“This is a very serious matter. Come next Sunday, nobody should think in the United States that they’re going to be able to get away with this. Everyone in the protest community needs to know that the fullest force of the federal government is going to come down and prevent this from happening and put people away for a long, long time,” Dhillon added.
She said Minnesota officials could have pursued arrests in connection with the disruption shortly after it occurred.
“Those asking where the arrests are: MN state prosecutors could have made arrests yesterday. The DOJ must first go before a federal judge to obtain an arrest warrant,” Dhillon wrote on X.
She added that Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department will “pursue federal charges in this case.”
St. Paul school board member involved
Nekima Levy Armstrong, a prominent activist, said in a Facebook post that she co-organized the disruption along with Chauntyll Allen, a St. Paul Public Schools board member. Videos show Allen leading chants inside the church.
Allen posted a photo of Lemon and Armstrong outside Cities Church, accusing congregants of following a “false prophet,” according to a screenshot of a Facebook post obtained by Alpha News.
Allen has served on the school board since January 2020 and is also a founder of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities, according to her LinkedIn.
BREAKING: One of the anti-ICE protesters who stormed a church has been identified as Chauntyll Allen, a school board member for Saint Paul Public Schools (@SPPS_News).
This woman is in charge of your children's education.
Any comment @SPPS_News?? pic.twitter.com/cCBOz8k63c
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 19, 2026
Allen has previously drawn controversy for her public comments on policing and school safety. Following the 2022 fatal stabbing of a student at Harding High School, Allen criticized the district’s decision to temporarily return police officers to schools, calling it a “status quo white supremacist solution.”
Her remarks drew backlash from the St. Paul Police Federation, which condemned the comments as inflammatory and inappropriate in the wake of a student’s death.
Armstrong has previously drawn attention for leading a group of protesters who gathered outside the home of Alpha News reporter Liz Collin, where effigies of Collin and her husband were later smashed.
The same Nekima who lead the threats at our home and who the Minnesota media continues to praise and platform. ⬇️https://t.co/XQlafUhyHJ https://t.co/yM8oyFUd1u pic.twitter.com/xAkmp2MtMT
— Liz Collin (@lizcollin) January 19, 2026
Alpha News contacted St. Paul Public Schools seeking comment on whether it was appropriate for a board member to participate in disrupting a church service but did not receive a response.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
