White House says Walz, Frey incited chaos after anti-ICE mob storms Minneapolis church

DOJ probes church storming as protests escalate in Minnesota

Senior Justice Department advisor Alina Habba joins 'Fox & Friends' to discuss how the DOJ will use civil-rights statutes to prosecute those who intimidate worshipers, attack officers or fund violent protests amid Minnesota unrest.

The White House slammed a mob of anti-ICE agitators who reportedly stormed into a Twin Cities church Sunday, accusing local left-wing leaders — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey — of inciting the chaos. 

"There is no low these radical leftists won’t stoop to," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital Monday morning. "Jacob Frey and Tim Walz have whipped these rioters into a frenzy and turned them loose to wreak havoc on Minneapolis." 

"Frey and Walz should be ashamed for inciting such chaos, but the Trump Administration will continue enforcing the law," she added. 

Jackson was reacting to a mob comprised of dozens of agitators allegedly storming into the Cities Church sanctuary in St. Paul on Sunday midway through church services, throwing worship into chaos, Fox Digital previously reported. Protesters claimed the pastor was a local ICE official. 

VIRAL VIDEO SHOWS ICE AGENT TELLING AGITATORS THEY'RE DISRUPTING ARREST OF CHILD SEX OFFENDER IN MINNESOTA

Minnesota has been rocked by a massive fraud scandal stretching back to the pandemic that prosecutors speculate could total billions of dollars.  (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Department of Justice officials vowed Sunday to open an investigation into the disruption, specifically probing for federal civil rights violations "by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshipers," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi added in a statement Sunday that "attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law."

Video footage of the church protests spreading on social media does not show local police on the scene deterring the chaos. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Minneapolis Police Department Monday for comment on the matter, and was redirected to the St. Paul Police Department as the church is located within that department's jurisdiction. Fox Digital reached out to the St. Paul police department Monday morning and has yet to receive a reply. 

ICE SAYS 2 DEMONSTRATORS WERE ARRESTED IN MINNESOTA FOR ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTING OFFICERS

Community members confront federal agents after an immigration raid that resulted in detentions and followed the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Jan. 13, 2026. (Tim Evans/Reuters)

Chaos has broken out in Minneapolis in recent weeks as agitators take to the streets to protest federal law enforcement officials. Federal officers converged on the state in early January as a sweeping fraud case came to light, which has led to dozens of arrests, mostly including members of Minneapolis' large Somali population. 

Protests and criticisms against ICE heightened Jan. 7, when a federal officer fatally shot protester Renee Good. Federal officials say Good used her car as a weapon against the agent, arguing he acted in self-defense when he fired his weapon. 

Democrats and administration officials have called the shooting a "murder" as they speak out against the administration's deportation efforts of illegal immigrants. 

ACTING ICE DIRECTOR DEFENDS AGENCY'S FOCUS ON TARGETING CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS, DETAILS THREAT TO AGENTS

Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks to reporters after he announced that he would not seek reelection, at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, Jan. 5, 2026.  (Reuters/Tim Evans)

Frey rejected the Trump administration’s characterization of the immigration crackdown in Minnesota during a Sunday appearance on CBS’ "Face the Nation," claiming the surge of federal agents has made residents feel targeted rather than protected.

"This is not about safety. What this is about is coming into our city by the thousands and terrorizing people simply because they're Latino or Somali," Frey said. "People in Minneapolis are speaking up. They're speaking up peacefully. They're standing up for their neighbors. And this is not just about resisting Trump. This is about loving and caring for the people that call this city home. And it's been inspiring." 

Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor's office and governor's office for comment Monday morning regarding the White House's statement regarding the church disruption but did not immediately receive replies. 

MINNEAPOLIS POSTS ANTI-ICE VIDEO PROMOTING 'PEACEFUL PROTEST' AND UNITY

The mob converging on a church comes as the Department of Homeland Security has warned that violence targeting ICE personnel has spiked in recent months. In a late November Homeland Security release, the agency said it logged 238 assaults on ICE law enforcement officers from Jan. 21, 2025, through Nov. 21, 2025, compared with 19 assaults during the same span in 2024 — a 1,153% increase.

A firework explodes near fencing outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building during protests, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Jen Golbeck/The Associated Press )

Fallout from Minnesota’s sprawling fraud scandal bled into the state’s political turmoil earlier in January, when Walz announced he would not seek re-election — a decision that came amid intensifying scrutiny of oversight failures during his tenure. Walz, who has served as governor since 2019, acknowledged the wrongdoing occurred on his watch and said state systems failed to catch it sooner, while arguing Republicans were inflating and "sensationalizing" 

Frey, when asked about the scandal earlier in January, said "everybody could have done more" to stop the fraud, but cautioned against blaming broader communities for the alleged crimes of individuals — a point he made while pushing back on rhetoric that has focused on the Somali American community.

MINNESOTA NATIONAL GUARD PLACED ON STANDBY TO SUPPORT LAW ENFORCEMENT AS PROTESTS TURN VIOLENT

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pinned blame on Democrats and their rhetoric for heightened threats against federal immigration law enforcement officers. 

"The Democrat Party has demeaned these individuals," Leavitt said Thursday of federal immigration officers. "They've even referred to them as ‘Nazis’ and as ‘the Gestapo.’ And that is absolutely leading to the violence we're seeing in the streets.

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"If you look at some of the images out of Minneapolis last night, look at this vehicle, look at what it says," Leavitt added. "It says, ‘F ICE.’ You have these individuals who are putting their middle finger, proudly so, at the camera, another ICE individual, a vehicle that was vandalized last night by these left-wing agitators."

Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom contributed to this article.