Category: St paul
‘This is First Amendment activity’: Democrats give church-storming mobs their stamp of approval
Radicals participating in a so-called “ICE Out Action” stormed a Christian church on Sunday in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The interlopers — ex-CNN talking head Don Lemon and a motley crew of leftists hailing largely from Nekima Levy Armstrong’s Racial Justice Network, Black Lives Matter Minnesota, and BLM Twin Cities — not only lashed out at a pastor over his apparent role at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement but intimidated parishioners, drowned out sound of worship with their propaganda, and pressured the prayerful to condemn ICE.
The Justice Department has indicated that criminal charges for possible Freedom of Access to Clinics Entrances Act and KKK Act violations are imminent. Despite the clear language of the relevant statutes, some Democrats have defended the mob action, indicating that churches are viable targets for further desecration.
‘When they find out that someone that’s supposed to be speaking for the community in church is found out to be in ICE … they have the right to go in there.’
When asked whether the DOJ has a case against the anti-ICE radicals who disrupted Minnesota Christians’ lawful exercise of religious freedom in a place of worship, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday, “Under this DOJ, wrongdoing has nothing to do with whether they’re going to focus or investigate you. So I wish in a normal time I would say no; I’d say this is First Amendment activity.”
After she suggested that “the optics of going into a place of worship are not necessarily great,” Burnett asked the Muslim Minnesota AG whether he was frustrated “that it happened this way.”
Nekima Levy Armstrong, the radical who led the intrusion into the church. Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images.
Ellison avoided answering the question, suggesting he was instead frustrated by the number of ICE agents operating in his crime-ridden jurisdiction and the possibility that troops might be deployed to Minnesota.
Rep. Adelita Grijalva (Ariz.), a co-sponsor of a resolution to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and a recent participant in an anti-ICE operation, is another Democrat who evidently figures churches are fair game for intimidation campaigns.
On a CNN appearance Monday, Grijalva justified the mob action, suggesting that the supposedly ICE-affiliated pastor “now knows what it’s like to have his daily life and privacy interrupted. This is a daily occurrence in our immigrant communities — being followed, being kidnapped, us out of our schools, churches, and hospitals.”
The Democrat congresswoman underscored that she did not think it was a step too far for “protesters” to go into churches, noting, “I think that when they find out that someone that’s supposed to be speaking for the community in church is found out to be in ICE, like a federal agent that is running ICE in their communities, they have the right to go in there.”
“Churches have always been an open door,” continued Grijalva. “And from my understanding in the videos that I saw, those protesters were not violent in any way.”
‘No cause — political or otherwise — justifies the desecration of a sacred space.’
Numerous Christian leaders and organizations evidently see things differently and have advocated for legal consequences in response to the intrusion.
Pastor Paul Chappell, president of the West Coast Baptist College, stated, “We condemn the actions of Don Lemon and the group of activists who stormed Cities Church today in St. Paul, Minnesota, in clear violation of the FACE Act. Christians everywhere should demand that the Department of Justice arrest those who participated. We must protect religious liberty in this country.”
“This group trespassed on private property and willfully obstructed Christian worship,” said Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board. “No cause — political or otherwise — justifies the desecration of a sacred space or the intimidation and trauma inflicted on families gathered peacefully in the house of God.”
Ezell added, “What occurred was not protest; it was lawless harassment.”
Albert Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, called the mob action not only a “desecration” but an “unspeakably evil intrusion.”
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon stressed on Sunday that houses of worship are not public forums for the protests of radicals but spaces “protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws.”
“We don’t want to prejudge, but I think it is fair to say that I saw multiple federal criminal incidents yesterday, and there will be charges,” Dhillon told Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck. “It’s only a question of when we can get a judge to sign off on arrest warrants and exactly what the charges would be.”
“We will not let this happen to another church in the United States. It is un-American, unacceptable, and there is a zero-tolerance policy for it at this DOJ,” added Dhillon.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
‘I am illegal’: Leftist who made shocking confession wins mayoral race in Minnesota
A Minnesota state representative who once confessed to her own apparently unlawful entry into the United States won the St. Paul mayoral race on Tuesday.
It was later revealed that Her’s ‘uncle’ was actually not a familial relative but a family friend.
Rep. Kaohly Vang Her (DFL) secured an over-two-point victory over incumbent Mayor Melvin Carter (DFL). The election results were determined in the second ranked-choice voting round, with Her receiving fewer than 2,000 votes more than her opponent.
“My family came here as refugees,” Her said during her victory speech on Tuesday evening. “Never in their wildest dreams would I be standing here today accepting the position of mayor. I want to thank Mayor Melvin Carter for his many years of service to our city. I started my political career working for him, and I will always be grateful for that opportunity.”
On the state House floor in June, Her, who was born in Laos, made a startling confession while advocating for public health care for illegal immigrants. She claimed that her father, who worked at the U.S. consulate, brought her family to America by falsifying immigration paperwork.
Her’s uncle had worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development and, because of that work, was immediately eligible to come to the U.S. at the end of the Vietnam War, she stated at the time.
Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. Photo by Christopher Mark Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images
Her’s immediate family did not qualify for the same expedited process. However, Her’s father claimed on federal documents that Her’s maternal grandmother was his mother to circumvent their ineligibility, she explained to state lawmakers.
“My father, as the one processing the paperwork, put my grandmother down as his mother,” Her stated.
RELATED: Minneapolis mayoral race enters second round of ranked-choice vote counting
Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images
“And so, I am illegal in this country,” she continued. “My parents are illegal here in this country.”
It was later revealed that Her’s “uncle” was actually not a familial relative but a family friend. She claimed that her family would have been eligible to come to the U.S. anyway and that the falsified records only sped up the process.
Since immigrating to the U.S., Her has become a U.S. citizen.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
