Last Sunday, Christians watched in horror as videos of protesters storming a church in Minnesota emerged. The protest happened just because the preacher was suspected of being an agent of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Could this happen in my church?” nearly every Christian began wondering. That all depends on how this situation is handled.
The law is a teacher. Galatians 3:24 tells us this, but this is also a political reality in existence for ages. If the law is violated and the violator remains unpunished, then the law does not really exist. There is no boundary if it is not enforced.
We saw this clearly as a country when our immigration laws were not enforced for years. People were unafraid to violate our immigration laws, so the law was trampled into an almost forgotten existence, which is how we find ourselves at this question today.
Due to years of non-enforcement, ICE is executing arrests at a high volume. Thanks to the media telling people only half of the story, many believe these arrests are the equivalent of the Gestapo in Nazi Germany, only this time they’re rounding up people of color rather than Jews. Of course, such reports completely ignore criminal records, expired visas, missed court dates, and the fact that there is a violation of the law in their analysis.
All of this came to a head when a Minnesota woman, Renee Good, protested ICE, using her car to obstruct justice and apparently attempting to run over an agent. The ICE officer responded by shooting, neutralizing the threat to his life and his partner’s. Unfortunately, this led to Good’s death.
Therein lies our first run-in with the First Amendment. Good had a right to protest. Why, then, was she shot for simply exercising her rights?
The lesson is that the First Amendment is not absolute. Not all speech is protected. The ICE officer in question suffered internal bleeding thanks to the hit from Good’s car, and the incident shows she was intent on doing harm. The right to protest does not extend to physical harm of others, and the First Amendment does not protect speech intertwined with acts of violence, as Milk Wagon Drivers Union v. Meadowmoor Dairies (1941) makes clear.
I’m not going to use space to deal with whether Good should have been shot. I am only dealing with the First Amendment … but I do think law and logic would strongly place the legality on the officer’s side.
In response to this shooting, protests intensified, with protesters tracking down ICE officers to intimidate or stop them entirely. That is how protesters ended up flooding Cities Church in Minnesota during the worship service.
"What about the First Amendment right of these protesters?” the left asks. “What of the rights of the press of Don Lemon?”
Interestingly, no one is asking about the First Amendment right to worship, which protesters violated. But let’s look at it.
In 1994, Congress passed the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, most well-known for its application to abortion clinics. But section two of the law also prevents anyone from intimidating or interfering with any person lawfully exercising the First Amendment right to freedom of religion at a place of religious worship. Congratulations, you now officially know the law better than Minnesota’s attorney general.
These protesters showed up during church services, swarming the building and preventing the continuation of the service. Essentially, they prevented the church from engaging in religious worship in their place of worship by intimidation.
This is such an open and shut case of a FACE Act violation that I don’t even see CNN defending it. Sure, they may claim it lacks context, asking why the federal government is investigating and charging these clearly unlawful protesters but not investigating the ICE agent who shot Good. However, this claim misses the point and is factually inaccurate.
Former news host Don Lemon is accused of the same violation and may also be charged with violating the Ku Klux Klan Act. (Such an accusation dropped on Lemon is nothing short of delicious.) This act prevents people from conspiring to violate the civil rights of others.
Lemon claims he was just following a chance protest. However, his own livestream shows that he knew what was going on before the events took place. He flew to Minnesota after communicating with the leader. He livestreamed the meeting before the protest. He told his audience he was turning the camera to protect the instructions given at the meeting, implying he knew the plan. He wasn’t just asking questions; he knew. He was intimidating the parishioners and the pastor. He wasn’t impartial; he was judging the actions of the church. He questioned why they were afraid and why they did not talk to the protesters and join them.
It’s almost indisputable that these leftist protesters are taking the vehicle of the First Amendment, perverting its meaning, and using it to run over the law. Thankfully, the DOJ is looking into charging these people and has already made several arrests in the case. Lest that seem unfair, remember that the Biden DOJ used both aforementioned laws to imprison older women who protested outside of abortion clinics, but not those protesting pro-life pregnancy centers.
Laura Clark is a wife, mother, and community activist. She currently serves as the interim president of Alabama Center for Law and Liberty, a conservative nonprofit law firm that fights for limited government, free markets, and strong families in the courts. Anything written by Laura for this publication does not constitute legal advice.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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