Patriot Brief

  • What Happened: Rep. Adelita Grijalva said protesters had the right to enter a church after learning someone connected to ICE was involved.
  • Why It Matters: The comments appear to justify invading houses of worship under the guise of protest.
  • Bottom Line: Critics say Democrats are erasing boundaries on religious freedom to shield anti-ICE activism.

Another line has been crossed, and this time it came straight from a Democrat lawmaker on CNN.

On Monday’s broadcast of The Source, Rep. Adelita Grijalva said protesters were justified in barging into a church in St. Paul after discovering someone connected to ICE was involved in the community. According to Grijalva, churches are an open door, and activists have the right to go inside.

“I don’t,” she said when asked if protesters went too far. “I think that when they find out that someone that’s supposed to be speaking for the community in church is found out to be an ICE — like, a federal agent that is running ICE in their communities, they have the right to go in there.”

A sitting member of Congress just told the country that houses of worship are fair game for political mobs, as long as the target is tied to immigration enforcement. That is not peaceful protest. That is intimidation wrapped in religious language.

Grijalva brushed off concerns by claiming the protesters were not violent, adding, “Churches have always been an open door.” But open doors do not mean open season. Churches are protected spaces for worship, not political battlegrounds.

This is the logical endpoint of months of demonizing ICE and law enforcement. When leaders tell activists that federal agents are villains and enemies, someone eventually decides it is acceptable to confront them anywhere, even in church pews.

Religious freedom does not mean mobs get to storm sanctuaries. The First Amendment protects worship from government interference and from intimidation by political movements.

By excusing church invasions on national television, Democrats are signaling that no place is sacred anymore. Not homes. Not streets. Not even churches.

That should alarm every American, no matter their politics.