Protests inside churches are unusual despite long history of civil disobedience in the US

Associated Press (AP)EN 7 min read 100% complete by By PETER SMITH and TIFFANY STANLEYJanuary 25, 2026 at 04:23 PM

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Despite a long history of civil disobedience in the US, protests inside churches are uncommon. A recent case in St. Paul, Minnesota, is considered unusual because anti-ICE protesters disrupted a service at Cities Church, a Southern Baptist congregation, on a recent Sunday. The protesters were demonstrating against federal immigration enforcement. The event took place on January 23, 2026, in Minneapolis, where protesters gathered at a Target store to rally against federal immigration agents. Religious leaders, including Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum and Pastor Grant Stevenson, participated in the demonstrations.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Angelina Katsanis 40% Grant Stevenson ×240% Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum ×250% Abbie Parr ×550% ICE 60% Target ×460% Cities Church 60% St. Paul 70% Minnesota 70% Federal immigration agents ×370% Minneapolis ×680%

Keywords

protests 90% churches 80% civil disobedience 70% ice 70% immigration 60% religious history 50% st. paul 40% minneapolis 40%

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Neutral

Score: 0.05

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Source

Associated Press (AP)

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Minneapolis

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis.

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protests churches civil disobedience ice immigration religious history st. paul minneapolis

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