Cities Church Attorneys Slam Prosecutor’s Decision Not to Charge Invaders: ‘The Law Will Bend’

The attorneys representing Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn., condemned the local prosecutor’s decision not to press charges against agitators who invaded the church in the middle of a January service.

City Attorney Irene Kao announced Tuesday that she would not press charges against the agitators, who staged a take-over inside the church’s sanctuary. The agitators said they opposed the church because one of its pastors works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“This decision should not be interpreted as an endorsement of unlawful behavior or public disorder,” Kao said. “The right to peacefully protest is protected, as is the right to exercise one’s religious beliefs. Balancing these equally important rights is paramount to our decision today.”

“However, acts of violence, property destruction, or threats to public safety—none of which occurred here—remain serious concerns and will be prosecuted when supported by admissible evidence,” she added.

The Church Responds

True North Legal attorneys representing Cities Church, a reformed evangelical church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, condemned the decision.

“The St. Paul City Attorney assures the public that violence, property destruction, or threats to public safety would have been prosecuted, but that draws an arbitrary line that conveniently excludes statutory charges for other kinds of unlawful conduct,” Renee Carlson, general counsel at True North Legal, said in a statement Wednesday. “Just because the agitators didn’t break any windows doesn’t mean they didn’t break the law.”

“The St. Paul City Attorney’s decision treats the church like it’s a public sidewalk—as if the sanctuary were an open forum that anyone may seize mid-service, rather than private property where a congregation has the right to worship undisturbed,” Doug Wardlow, director of litigation for True North Legal, said.

“By wrongly characterizing the invasion and takeover of a worship service as First Amendment-protected conduct, the City Attorney’s office sends an unmistakable signal: the law will bend for those whose cause aligns with the politics of those in power,” he argued.

Jonathan Parnell, the church’s lead pastor, warned that this precedent would excuse the invasion of a mosque or other houses of worship, as well.

“According to the St. Paul City Attorney’s logic, it is perfectly fine for agitators to invade a mosque, a cathedral, or a temple, intimidate the families and children inside, and shut down their religious gathering,” he said. “Just call it a ‘protest.’”

“City Attorney Irene Kao’s decision not to charge the agitators who invaded our church on January 18, 2026, leaves us to question whether her commitment to protect religious people includes evangelical Christians,” Parnell added.

Federal Charges for Church Invaders

While the church invaders will not face local or state charges from Kao’s office, they do face federal charges.

A federal grand jury indicted 39 people, including former CNN host Don Lemon, on two charges: violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which also protects access to churches; and violating the Ku Klux Klan Act, which criminalizes efforts to deprive Americans of their fundamental rights—in this case, the right to the free exercise of religion. (A judge dismissed the charges against one defendant due to mistaken identity.)

The case traces back to Jan. 18, when dozens of agitators entered Cities Church in the middle of a Sunday service.

According to a federal indictment based on videos the agitators themselves posted online, the agitators paraded down the aisles, blocked worshipers from leaving, and screamed in the faces of crying children.

One agitator reportedly asked children, “Do you know your parents are Nazis? They’re going to burn in hell?”

At least one father told investigators that his children were traumatized. One of them said to him, “Daddy, I thought you were going to die.”

The agitators allegedly refused to leave when asked. They allegedly blocked parents from getting to their children in Sunday school. They reportedly stood in the middle of the sanctuary chanting, “ICE Out!” and “Who shut this down? We shut this down!”

The agitators have pleaded not guilty, claiming they were engaging in a protest.