Several faith leaders called urgently for protecting the rights of worshippers while also expressing compassion for migrants after anti-immigration enforcement protesters disrupted a service at a Southern Baptist church in Minnesota.
About three dozen protesters entered the church during Sunday service at the Cities Church in St. Paul, some walking right up to the pulpit, others loudly chanting “ICE out” and “Renee Good,” referring to a woman who was fatally shot on Jan. 7 by an ICE agent in Minneapolis during an immigration enforcement operation.
One of the church’s pastors, David Easterwood, leads the local field office for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. One of the leaders of the protest and prominent local activist Nekima Levy Armstrong said she’s also an ordained reverend.
In a statement, the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention called what happened “an unacceptable trauma.”
