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A band of anti-ICE agitators brazenly walked into a Sunday service at Cities Church in St. Paul and began shouting down worshippers, frightening children and disrupting prayer — behavior that would be condemned in any decent, law-abiding society. This was not protest; it was intimidation dressed up as activism, and ordinary Americans watching the video felt the same chill of lawlessness that comes whenever mobs decide they are above the law.
Harris Faulkner called it what it was on Outnumbered — mobster tactics — and she was right to name the behavior plainly instead of pretending these intruders were noble crusaders. The panel on Outnumbered pushed back against the usual media reflex to romanticize disruption, insisting that churches and worshippers deserve protection from partisan intimidation.
Pastor Jonathan Parnell of Cities Church immediately condemned the attack, calling the conduct shameful and unlawful and warning that the congregation would pursue legal options to protect their flock. The optics were appalling: people trying to worship in peace, interrupted by a fringe that substitutes zealotry for civility while accusing others of crimes.
The federal response has been swift in tone if not yet in results — officials announced investigations and said arrests were coming, and Homeland Security voices promised accountability for those who storm places of worship. Local enforcement and federal leaders have repeatedly defended ICE’s legal role even as activists try to shut down lawful operations, which only underscores the reality that enforcing immigration laws is not a crime.
Make no mistake: this is a moment that tests whether America will tolerate mob rule or stand up for the rule of law. Conservative Americans rightly see a double standard when left-leaning mobs are cheered on by elites and some in the press, while ordinary citizens and officers who carry out lawful duties are vilified for doing their jobs.
We should not mince words — showing up to a church to intimidate worshippers is despicable and should be met with the full force of the law, not applause on late-night stages or shrugs from local politicians. If our leaders care about civil society, they will protect houses of worship and ensure that peaceful citizens can practice their faith free from harassment. The conservative case here is simple and patriotic: defend the vulnerable, respect the law, and stop letting mobs determine who gets to enjoy basic liberties.
Now is the time for community leaders, law enforcement and federal officials to act decisively and for conservative voices to demand more than performative outrage from politicians. Americans who believe in order and decency must push back against the normalization of violence in the name of “protest,” and stand with pastors and parishioners who were targeted simply for living out their faith.
