Civil Rights Activists Allege Cities Church Denied Black Man Entry to Worship After January Protests
Civil rights activists Nekima Levy Armstrong and Monique Cullars Doty alleged at an April 7 press conference that Cities Church denied a Black man entry to worship after connecting him to protest activity, part of what they describe as a broader pattern of discriminatory and retaliatory treatment following the Righteous 39 arrests.
SAINT PAUL – Cities Church, led by Pastor and St. Paul ICE Field Director David Easterwood, allegedly denied a Black man entry to worship sometime after the Jan. 18 protests, two civil rights activists said at a press conference outside the Western District Police Station in St. Paul on April 7.
Target Boycott co-founders Nekima Levy Armstrong and Monique Cullars Doty made several allegations Tuesday describing what they consider a pattern of discriminatory and retaliatory treatment after the Justice Department charged multiple journalists and protesters — the Righteous 39 — under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
The allegation comes one day after Ramsey County Judge Maria Mitchell said she did not find probable cause to keep Emily Phillips in jail and dismissed charges related to a noise complaint across the street from Cities Church on Easter Sunday. Alyssa Arcand, a spokesperson for the St. Paul Police Department, said the dismissal was due to a procedural error and that St. Paul PD may press additional charges against Phillips at a later date.
“We’re aware that the case was currently dismissed because of a procedural error that was made where the probable cause notes were not included on the citation. A police report detailing the facts of the case was written,” Arcand said. “Our investigators are continuing to work on the case with the City Attorney’s Office. It is not uncommon for cases to be charged out of custody.”
Levy Armstrong said her office was contacted by a man who initially attended Cities Church without incident but was stopped when he returned a second time.
“We were contacted by a Black man who went to Cities Church, not knowing what had happened there,” Armstrong said. “And then the second time that he went, he was questioned, asked if he knew me.”
According to Levy Armstrong, the man had not been in contact with her since at least 2020. Still, she said, church staff made the connection and denied him access to the sanctuary.
“He was told he looks like one of us, and was not allowed into the sanctuary to worship with other people at Cities Church,” Levy Armstrong said. “That’s unacceptable. This man was looking for a church home, yet he wasn’t even allowed to go into the sanctuary the second time that he showed up to participate in the worship service simply because he is a Black man. That is not okay.”
Cullars Doty provided additional detail about how the congregation apparently asked for identification before denying access to Sunday service.
“When he went, they wanted his driver’s license. They wanted to know who he was, and they were asking all kinds of questions,” Cullars Doty said. “He said he doesn’t watch the news. He didn’t know what had happened.”
Levy Armstrong also raised a second allegation, claiming that someone affiliated with Cities Church contacted at least one Black congregation on the North Side in an effort to spur public opposition against the Righteous 39.
“The thing I want to call out regarding Pastor Jonathan Parnell is the fact that we know that you have called around, or someone from your church has called around to at least one predominantly Black church in North Minneapolis asking them to speak out against the Righteous 39,” she said. “That is absolutely ridiculous.”
MSR contacted Pastor Prnell for comment who referred the question to the law firm representing Cities Church. The firm’s spokesperson, Greg Scott, denied the allegations.
“The version of events described in your email is wildly inaccurate. It’s obvious that this is another attempt to intimidate the church,” Scott wrote. “Cities Church is a place where people come to find the peace of Christ and they should be able to do so without fear.”
Cullars Doty pushed back on claims that church members felt threatened by protesters.
“Stop acting like you’re the victim. Stop acting like it’s necessary for you to have a St. Paul Police officer sitting in your congregation on Sunday, nobody was violent towards you,” she said. “If you think that you were in danger, that is your own insecurity, that is your own white fragility, because you saw some Black people in the church, and you saw some people chanting.”
Emily Phillips also described how federal immigration agents targeted her in Richfield on Dec. 7. Phillips approached a stop sign and then an unmarked vehicle drove through a one-way street, forcing her to drive backwards until she was boxed in by multiple agents.
“At least eight agents in full tactical gear got out and pointed a rifle directly at the driver,” Phillips said. “And I have it on video. I have proof of it, and yet I was not even allowed to file a police report.”
Phillips said Richfield police declined to let her file a police report, prompting her to raise the issue directly with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
“The Attorney General, Keith Ellison, told me that the police are not used to having to do anything against federal officials, federal employees, federal agents, and that we the people needed to apply pressure,” Phillips said. “That is not an acceptable response from the person who has control over the police in our state, and just saying that they’re not used to policing federal agents isn’t good enough when they’re pointing guns in our faces.”
The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office did not respond to requests for comment as of this writing.