Print
Close
NYT slammed over report saying protest at Minnesota church service 'adds to tensions over ICE tactics'
By Marc Tamasco
Published January 20, 2026
After a group of anti-ICE agitators disrupted a church service in Minnesota over the weekend, The New York Times published a report framing the incident as adding to "tensions over ICE tactics."
On Monday, the Times published a report titled "Protest at Minnesota Church Service Adds to Tensions Over ICE Tactics," drawing the ire of some on social media who felt that the headline was dismissive of the worshipers who were victimized, and instead focused on the public backlash to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in the state.
"Incredible," wrote Drew Holden, a managing editor at the conservative outlet "American Compass," on X Monday. "NY Times headline about the storming of a church in Minnesota. The takeaway is that the public intimidation of Christians ‘adds to tensions over ICE tactics.’"
FLASHBACK: FAR-LEFT ACTIVIST WHO ORGANIZED MINNESOTA CHURCH STORMING PRAISED CONVICTED COP KILLER
"It’s always about Trump. There are no other villains to the legacy press. Deranged," he added.
Byron York, chief political correspondent at the Washington Examiner, also questioned the Times' headline.
"Tensions over whose tactics?" York wrote on X Tuesday, including a screenshot of the article.
Danielle Rhoades Ha, The New York Times senior vice president of communications, told Fox News Digital: "Our role is to cover the news fully and fairly, which we did in this reporting. Our story and headline accurately report on Monday’s protest at the church in St. Paul. The Justice Department is investigating whether or not a crime took place."
On Sunday, several dozen protesters went inside the Cities Church in Minneapolis and shouted down the congregation for not participating in anti-ICE demonstrations.
"Where are your people? Why are you not ... fighting for humanity," one protester could be heard yelling.
A livestream video of the incident was posted online by Black Lives Matter Minnesota. Protesters were heard shouting "ICE out" and "Justice for Renee Good" in the middle of services in front of shocked churchgoers.
The Times reported that the protest was organized by Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer, who said she wanted to draw attention to church leader David Easterwood.
PROMINENT CATHOLIC BISHOP SLAMS ANTI-ICE AGITATORS WHO DISRUPTED MN CHURCH SERVICE: 'UNACCEPTABLE'
"Ms. Levy Armstrong, the church protest organizer, said that in the lawsuit filed earlier this month against ICE’s tactics, she saw that Mr. Easterwood was named as a defendant for overseeing ‘a racial profiling campaign of massive scale and with devastating consequences,’ and connected him with the church," according to the Times.
"She compared Mr. Easterwood’s appearance in an October news conference alongside Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with a sermon he delivered at the church that was posted to YouTube."
A protester confronts a Homeland Security officer during a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following a fatal shooting by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 11. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
According to the Times, Levy Armstrong said she circulated her plans to interrupt the service via social media as a way to "raise awareness among the congregation of Mr. Easterwood’s involvement in the immigration crackdown."
"To have someone in the role of a pastor also being in that role as an overseer is unconscionable," Levy Armstrong told the Times. She added that Jesus "called out religious leaders for their hypocrisy."
Included in the report was a quote from a local protester, Vivian Stroh, 38, who, according to the Times, was part of a "caravan of cars driving to an event at Saint Paul College."
"We need to show up for our community and neighbors, because no one is coming to save us," she told the Times. "We will keep each other safe."
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The outlet wrote that the Trump administration has "moved to aggressively investigate and curb protests against immigration enforcement in Minnesota," and that "anger flared" in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area this month "after Jonathan Ross, an immigration agent, shot and killed Renee Good, a Minneapolis woman."
The Justice Department said it is investigating Sunday's incident at Cities Church.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/nyt-slammed-over-report-saying-protest-minnesota-church-service-adds-tensions-over-ice-tactics