Trans state rep Leigh Finke calls for agitators to keep storming churches until ICE is out of Minnesota

A trans-identified male Minnesota state representative has come under fire for encouraging anti-ICE agitators to storm churches in the wake of such an action that took place on Sunday in St Paul, Minnesota, with one man filming himself harassing congregants as others interrupted the worship service with chants. 

Dem Rep Leigh Finke wrote on Facebook, "Yesterday protesters disrupted services at Cities Church in Saint Paul, where the leader of the local ICE office also serves as pastor. The protest has caused outrage, promises of retribution and prosecution, and the usual round of upset. But it has had me thinking for the past 24 hours of the actions of Act Up and WHAM, in 1989, who staged a die in and protest in St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. An action that similarly brought condemnation during a time when an out of control crisis was left to its destruction for far too long.

"Actions like this—nonviolent resistance in the face of government inaction or oppression—are essential. And they must continue until ICE is out of our state, the administration is out of the White House, and dignity and humanity for all of our neighbors is achieved," Finke, who was named as one of USA Today’s "Women of the Year" in 2023, continued. 

"Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day in America. Dr. King knew that injustice must be confronted. He knew the moral conscience of the nation must be made to hear the desperate plight of those who are suffering. He knew that the only way to achieve this at national scale was for people to rise up together in nonviolent revolution until all were free. So did Act UP, and so do the people of Minneapolis. ICE OUT."

During Sunday service, agitators stormed Cities Church in St Paul, Minnesota. One man, William Kelly, filmed himself and churchgoers as he harassed them, telling one group of women, "As you can see, all these pretend Christians, all these comfortable white people, who are living lavish, comfortable lives while children are dragged into concentration camps. You’re living real nice lives with your lattes, doing absolutely nothing for your Latino and Somali brothers and sisters." He later said that he felt "good about my actions in that white supremacist church earlier" after being invited to a Somali mosque in the area. 

The Department of Justice has said that it is investigating the incident for potential violations of the FACE Act, which prohibits obstructing, injuring, or intimidating people who are exercising their First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of worship.

Finke wrote in response to the backlash, "This morning I posted about nonviolent protest. It’s MLK Day, and being in the midst of this siege on Minnesota, it seemed a worthy moment to remind folks that nonviolent resistance is essential to social change. There is no human rights progress without nonviolent direct action. Now. The same evening, I have the entire Minnesota Republican and rightwing media apparatus focused on my comments.

"And, I think I understand it. Nonviolent resistance is, by design, uncomfortable. Disquieting. Upsetting. Martin Luther King, Jr, in his Letter from Birmingham Jail lays out just how central this element of protest is. If you want change you have to create crisis to wake the conscience of the nation. So when I praised a protest, when I invoked the power of the ACT UP protest at St Patrick’s, when I reminded folks about King’s own tradition of protest, I should have realized it would be controversial. Any challenge to the status quo is controversy for those who spend days in comfort," Finke added.