5 things to know after the storming of a Minnesota church by Anti-ICE activists

3. Easterwood defended ICE’s tactics in Minnesota

In a Jan. 5 court filing, David Easterwood argued that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were justified in using chemical irritants and other tactics against protesters, saying that the agents were facing increased threats and aggression. He also defended agents swapping license plates due to ongoing threats. 

Easterwood testified at the time that ICE agents don't "target or discriminate against individuals for exercising their rights to protest, record, or otherwise legally observe." However, he stressed there have been occasions when agents have had to respond to people interfering in their operations. 

"In other instances, the followers use their vehicles to block the road and to box in ICE vehicles as soon as they are able," Easterwood wrote. "This behavior is not safe and impedes ICE officers from effecting arrests. Prior to 2025, this type of behavior was virtually nonexistent. Now, it occurs almost daily."

None of the videos circulating on social media show Easterwood in the church, and it’s unclear if he was in the building on Sunday.

Easterwood was also named as a defendant among other agency leaders in a case last month, which alleged that the defendants “violated” the First and Fourth Amendment rights of various individuals protesting against immigration enforcement efforts.

In a Sunday X post, ICE warned that activists “aren’t just targeting our officers. Now they’re targeting churches, too.” 

“They're going from hotel to hotel, church to church, hunting for federal law enforcement who are risking their lives to protect Americans,” the agency stated. “Tim Walz and Jacob Frey are responsible for whipping these mobs into a frenzy and then allowing them to run rampant. We won’t be deterred. ICE isn’t going anywhere.”