Cities Church defendants file dozens of motions challenging charges
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Attorneys representing the 38 people charged in connection with an anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul church filed more than five dozen motions Monday, including requests to have the charges dismissed.
One of those requests argues that the defendants — including journalists who covered the protest — have been singled out for selective or vindictive prosecution under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
In short, the 1994 law was passed in response to violent anti-abortion protests at clinics. It also ensures the ability of people to access worship services without being intimidated or physically blocked.
During the Jan. 18 protest at Cities Church, demonstrators chanted in opposition to a church pastor who at the time was a high-ranking ICE official. Prosecutors allege they engaged in “intimidation, threats, interference and physical obstruction.” All 38 defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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Defense attorneys argue that the Trump administration is enforcing a double standard based on the political views held by demonstrators. And it points to incidents where people engaging in other protests that targeted LGBTQ-friendly churches in Texas and Florida didn’t face similar charges.
“Not only has the administration left similar church protests unprosecuted, but it has also pardoned and dismissed cases involving recidivist and even violent anti-abortion offenders,” reads the motion.
Attorneys also allege the administration has a “permissive attitude” when it comes to undercover ICE agents conducting surveillance in churches.
That’s a reference to the case of 15 anti-ICE protestors charged in an alleged conspiracy to impede or injure federal law enforcement officers during the ICE surge into Minnesota this winter. A defense attorney in the case disclosed Homeland Security Investigation files showing that an undercover officer conducted surveillance inside University Baptist Church, which at the time was hosting what the government described as a left-wing martial arts group.
The Minneapolis church is part of a nationwide alliance of churches that asked for and received a court injunction blocking federal agents from enforcing immigration laws on their properties. University Baptist Church officials accuse the government of violating that court order. A hearing in that case will be held in Massachusetts on Friday.
Another motion to dismiss the Cities Church case filed Monday asks the court to dismiss the charges based on what it says is the overuse of customs administrative summonses by Homeland Security investigators. The summonses were sent to “telecommunications, airlines, social-media and internet platforms, a rental-car company, a retailer, a state employment agency, and other third parties.”
Attorneys say the Department of Homeland Security, through Homeland Security Investigations, used 92 summonses to investigate and prosecute the defendants.
“DHS does not possess general jurisdiction to investigate every federal crime; its investigative authority is limited to the functions Congress expressly assigned, transferred, or otherwise vested in the Department and its components,” reads the motion.
The government has responded to previous motions challenging its investigative authority by accusing defendants of trying to “micromanage the government’s prosecution.”
The case has seen some unusual turns, including an order issued last month requiring the government to turn over all grand jury materials to be reviewed by a judge.
Grand jury proceedings are generally secret. But the Justice Department’s actions have been more scrutinized since a federal judge in Chicago uncovered prosecutorial misconduct in a case involving anti-ICE activists, which led to charges being dropped.
Reporter Jon Collins contributed to this story.
