Yesterday, a Christian congregation in Minneapolis had their Sunday worship disrupted by protesters who crossed the line between protest and intimidation, actually entering the church and accosting the congregation.
Accompanying the protesters was Don Lemon—formerly of CNN and now an independent commentator—who had just arrived in Minneapolis and, after some "reconnaissance," just happened to discover the group involved in what they called Operation Pull-up.
This "operation" was to disrupt the church's service with an anti-ICE "protest." The location was targeted because one of the church's pastors is allegedly also a local ICE official.
During the confrontation, Lemon interviewed the church's lead pastor. who objected to what was going on. Lemon—clearly on the side of the protesters—countered with, "There's a constitution and a first amendment to freedom of speech and freedom to assemble and protest."
But disrupting a church service is not a protest. It's a crime. If authorities in Minnesota don't enforce the law, they will be complicit in future attacks.
The First Amendment protects "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
The word "peaceably" in no way applies to the behavior of the mob that descended on this church. This was no protest, it was an act of intimidation perpetrated on a congregation that included the elderly and families with young children.
At least one Operation Pull-up member followed congregants to a vehicle, continually berating them, yet another act of intimidation.
Legitimate protesters would have assembled outside the church building, making their case without seeking confrontation with members of the congregation. But this group, by its own admission, seeks to show up unannounced and—in their own words—"disrupt business as usual."
At CatholicVote, we stand with our Christian brothers and sisters who had their Sunday worship invaded by a hostile mob. We also object to agitators posing as journalists in an attempt to fan the flames of unrest that threaten to destroy a great American city.
We call on political leaders in Minnesota to act now and condemn this hostile act. We also call on federal officials to prosecute this crime.
Please pray for the people of Minneapolis.
Go forward bravely,
Kelsey Reinhardt President & CEO, CatholicVote
Paid for by CatholicVote Civic Action, a 501(c)(4) organization., PO Box 3310, Carmel, IN 46082 (317) 669-6127
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