January 6, 2021, was used as a predicate for the egregious lawfare that the Biden administration waged against many on the political Right for four years. The administration seemed to gleefully throw the book at anyone it could drum up charges against – some for simply being in Washington, D.C., or near the Capitol grounds on that day. In the process, it violated constitutional rights and ruined lives.
Sunday, January 18, 2026, should eclipse the “infamy” of those Capitol protests for most Americans. That’s the day a mob forcefully entered, disrupted, and obstructed the peaceful worship service of Christians at the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
After four years of the Biden administration’s giving the back of its hand to Christianity, these emboldened bad actors, who dislike nothing more than peaceful Christian families attending Sunday services, stormed the church. Led by radical activists such as Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and William Kelly (along with their publicist, the ridiculous Don Lemon), this mob forced its way into the Church mid-service and disrupted the Christian families who were at worship. All three “activists” and Lemon were arrested and will be facing federal criminal charges.
Why did they do it? These activists were convinced that one of the head pastors of the church was the acting director of the local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, as if that would somehow make it permissible. The congregation showed remarkable resilience and patience in the face of an evil that Americans should never have to face in their own country.
And these same leftists want you to think January 6 was bad? January 6 was, at least until some got violent and damaged federal property, a proper protest. Demonstrators had legitimate constitutional concerns about the outcome of an election. But January 18, 2026, was worse: it sent a message to Christians that their houses of worship are no longer safe. The same people who loudly fret about “our democracy” don’t seem to value our constitutional rights.
This obstruction of peaceful worship potentially violated federal laws that defend Americans engaging in their First Amendment right to worship. The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, legislation signed by former President Clinton, prohibits the physical obstruction, use of force, and threats of force to cause intentional injury to someone, intimidate them, or attempt to interfere with someone’s access to houses of worship.
This law, which was originally intended to shield abortion facilities, also further enshrines our First Amendment right to freedom of religion. Besides the assault on this church being unnecessary and irrational, it was an atrocious display of emboldened anti-Christian sentiment by people who want society to bend the knee to their radical views. Armstrong, Allen, Kelly, and their co-conspirators’ actions appear to have been premeditated (with former “journalist” Lemon in tow), and their rush to social media to justify the outburst reveals the mob’s direct intention to sow chaos and intimidate worshippers. Aggressive prosecution against this mob by the DOJ under Attorney General Bondi’s leadership is exactly what we need, and based upon everything that has happened thus far in the investigation, I am confident we will get it.
To radicals like this, the end justifies the means. Now is the time for decisive action. Americans must stand up to those who wish to disrupt, harm, or otherwise obstruct peaceful worship in America. Every single “activist” in that church needs to be federally prosecuted to the fullest extent imaginable. There is no end worthy of these means. This type of infamous conduct needs to be stopped in its tracks, and I’m confident the Trump administration will not stand for it and do everything in its power to punish it.
Accountability is coming.
James Fitzpatrick is an Army veteran, a former appointee in the Trump 45 administration, and Director of the Center to Advance Security in America.