Justice Department probes anti-ICE church protest in Minnesota

Anti-ICE protesters disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota on Sunday, chanting “ICE out!” as they interrupted worship inside the building.

(CNN)- Anti-ICE protesters disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota on Sunday, chanting “ICE out!” as they interrupted worship inside the building.

The demonstrators said they were protesting a top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official in the Twin Cities who also serves as a pastor at the church. Within hours of the protest, the U.S. Justice Department announced it had opened an investigation into the demonstrators’ actions. The demonstration comes amid growing tensions in Minnesota, as the Pentagon has ordered roughly 1,500 active-duty soldiers to prepare for possible deployment to the state.

Meanwhile, a lawyer for the family of Renée Good — who was fatally shot by an ICE agent earlier this month — is pushing for an investigation into the shooting.

“Let’s let an investigator get all the facts and ultimately a judge or jury determine,” said Antonio Romanucci, the family’s attorney.

Sources say the FBI initially opened a civil rights investigation into the ICE agent who shot Good, but the focus quickly shifted to whether the agent had been assaulted. The probe is now centered on the conduct of Good and those around her, including her widow. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department only investigates law enforcement shootings when it is “appropriate,” adding that “that’s not the case here.”

Romanucci criticized that position, saying, “Todd Blanche is telling us that he’s determining on his own that that was a defensible act without an investigation.”