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David Easterwood: Cities Church pastor's alleged ICE link remains unclear amid Don Lemon protest
Protesters disrupted a St. Paul church service, claiming pastor David Easterwood also leads the local ICE office. But links remain unclear.
On Sunday, the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota saw massive protests over one of the church's pastors' alleged links to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Amid the ongoing operation of the federal immigration officers in the city, Minneapolis and St. Paul have seen massive protest.
On Monday, the ire of the protestors turned towards the Cities Church. A group of protestors, including some associated with local Black Lives Matter groups, stormed the church's Sunday service over David Easterwood, one of their pastors, allegedly being the Field Office Director of the ICE.
The protest also attracted attention nationally over the participation of former CNN anchor Don Lemon in it. While the Justice Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon has vowed to press charges against the protestors, the alleged links of David Easterwood to the ICE still remain unclear.
“A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest! It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws!” Dhillon said after the incident.
Pastor David Easterwood's Alleged ICE Links
The entire logic of storming the church on Sunday over their pastor's alleged links to the ICE. However, with over a day having passed since the protest broke out, pastor Easterwood's links to the ICE remain unclear.
On Sunday, Ht.com was the first to report the news. We had written to Cities Church asking them to confirm or deny pastor Easterwood's link to the ICE. As of now, we have not received a response.
Also read: Nicki Minaj blasts Don Lemon over Minnesota church protest; uses homophobic slur
What We Know So Far
Multiple credible news outlets, such as The Hill and the CNN have reported that the Field Office Director of the ICE in St. Paul is named David Easterwood. Meanwhile, the Cities Church also lists one David Easterwood as the one of their pastors. However, if both are one and the same person is unclear, as of now.
The protestors seemed to have it confirmed based on the alleged similarities in their facial features. It all started with an interview of St Paul ICE boss David Easterwood on C-SPAN and the photo of pastor David Easterwood on the website of Cities Church.
Meanwhile, protests continue in Minneapolis and St. Paul, especially in the aftermath of the death of Renee Nicole Good after the fatal shooting involving ICE agent Jonathan Ross.
