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(MINNEAPOLIS) — The Justice Department said they are investigating am incident in which anti-ICE protesters disrupted a service on Sunday at a Minneapolis church where one of the pastors is an ICE official.

Video posted online by Black Lives Matter Minnesota shows protesters entering Cities Church in Minneapolis, where they said one of the pastors, David Easterwood, is the acting field director of the St. Paul ICE field office.

Easterwood was not at the church at the time of the protest, according to Black Lives Matter Minnesota. Jonathan Parnell is the church’s pastor and can be seen talking to the protestors in the video.

“Someone who claims to worship God, teaching people in this church about God, is out there overseeing ICE agents. Think about what we’ve experienced,” a protestor tells the congregation inside the church in the Black Lives Matter Minnesota video.

“I just spoke to the Pastor in Minnesota whose church was targeted,” Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X Sunday. “Attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law.”

“If state leaders refuse to act responsibly to prevent lawlessness, this Department of Justice will remain mobilized to prosecute federal crimes and ensure that the rule of law prevails,” Bondi’s post continued.

Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon likewise said they are investigating the incident.

“This heinous act that occurred in Minnesota yesterday is receiving the highest level of attention from @TheJusticeDept,” Dhillon posted on X. “@AGPamBondi & I are working around the clock, because no right in our Constitution is more sacred than the freedom to assemble & pray to God.”

Dhillon also said that they were investigating the church protest as “potential violations of the federal FACE Act.” The Freedom to Access Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 makes it a federal crime to intimidate or interfere with any person “seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship,” or attempting to obtain or provide reproductive health services. The legislation was prompted by violent crimes that were being committed against abortion providers and those seeking their services.

“At approximately 10:40 a.m. on Sun. Jan. 18, Saint Paul Police officers responded to Cities Church on the 1500 block of Summit Ave. following multiple calls reporting approximately 30 to 40 protesters who interrupted church services,” the St. Paul Police Department told ABC News in a statement.

“By the time officers arrived on scene, the group had moved outside the church and began to walk down the alley. Saint Paul Police continued to monitor the protest,” the statement concluded.

A St. Paul Police spokesperson later said in a statement that they are “actively investigating this incident as a disorderly conduct investigation” and had no additional public information at the time due to the investigation being open.

The Cities Church website lists Easterwood as one of their pastors. Easterwood also appeared with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during an Oct. 24 news conference in Minneapolis, where Noem identified him as an ICE acting field office director in the region who is with Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Easterwood also is one of several parties, including Noem, named in a class action lawsuit filed last week by the ACLU alleging “unlawful policies and practices” by ICE in Minnesota, including racial profiling and arrests without warrants or probable cause.

ICE blamed the disruption on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, saying on social media that they “are responsible for whipping these mobs into a frenzy and then allowing them to run rampant.”

“The Governor has repeatedly and unequivocally urged protesters to do so peacefully,” a spokesperson for Walz told ABC News in response to a request for comment. “While people have a right to speak out, he in no way supports interrupting a place of worship.”

Frey had not publicly addressed the church protest as of early Monday afternoon. He did post a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on X, to mark Monday’s federal holiday commemorating the late civil rights leader.

“’Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ Dr. King said it best. On MLK Day, I’m thinking about his call to stand up for justice, love others, and speak out when power goes too far. As the federal gov moves the opposite way, we’ll keep standing with our neighbors,” Frey posted.

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(NEW YORK) — A strong geomagnetic storm could soon interact with Earth’s atmosphere, bringing the potential for northern lights displays to be seen much further south in the continental U.S., according to space weather experts.

A Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) — a massive burst of solar material and magnetic field from the sun’s outer atmosphere — that occurred on Sunday is expected to reach Earth within the next 24 hours, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center and the U.K.’s Met Office.

Strong (G3) or severe (G4) geomagnetic storm conditions could occur as a result of the CME, including auroras that extend as far south as Alabama and northern California.

Northern light displays occur when a solar flare interacts with the atoms and molecules in Earth’s atmosphere.

As the solar flare clashes with the upper atmosphere, it causes the atoms to emit a glow, creating a spectrum of light in the night sky.

Whether the auroras will actually be visible will depend on how the CME arrives, the magnetic orientation of the CME’s magnetic field and how cloudy it is locally.

The best time to see the northern lights in the U.S. is generally between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. local time, and traveling to the darkest location possible is recommended for the best viewing, according to NOAA.

The storm could also impact power systems, spacecraft operations, radio frequencies and satellite navigation.

Geomagnetic storms are ranked on a scale of 1 to 5. A G3 storm could require voltage corrections on power systems and cause intermittent satellite navigation and low-frequency radio navigation problems, according to NOAA.

Under a G4 storm, possible widespread voltage control problems and other issues on power grids could occur, as could increased satellite navigation and low-frequency radio navigation problems.

Spacecrafts could also experience surface charging and tracking problems.

The sun’s magnetic field reached its solar maximum phase of its 11-year cycle in October 2024 and has continued to emit strong solar flares and geomagnetic storms, leading to an increase in aurora displays.

Intense magnetic activity caused by sunspots are expected to last through 2026, according to NOAA.

NOAA is currently analyzing the data for the most recent CME.

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(NEW YORK) — A brutal arctic blast is bringing dangerously low temperatures to the Plains and Midwest before it invades the Northeast.

On Monday morning, the wind chill — what temperature it feels like — plunged to minus 30 degrees in Minneapolis; minus 27 degrees in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; minus 22 degrees in Chicago; and minus 22 degrees in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In the Windy City, wind gusts could hit 35 mph.

The cold even reached Florida on Monday. Wind chills dropped to the 20s in North Florida and hovered around 32 degrees in Central Florida.

On Tuesday morning, the freezing cold will continue in the Midwest, with the wind chill forecast to hit minus 12 degrees in Minneapolis; minus 8 in Chicago and Detroit; and minus 13 in Cleveland, Ohio.

The dangerous temperatures will also arrive in the Northeast on Tuesday. The wind chill is forecast to drop to minus 12 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; 5 degrees in New York City and Philadelphia; 7 degrees in Washington, D.C.; and minus 9 in Buffalo, New York.

The Arctic blast will also bring lake effect snow through Wednesday. Six to 12 inches is possible from western Michigan to Buffalo, New York.

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(NEW ORLEANS) — A man was killed, and three bystanders were wounded, in a shooting in the foyer of an iconic New Orleans restaurant, authorities said, and the gunman remains at large.

The shooting occurred just after 8 p.m. Friday, when a young man was being shot at and chased down the street, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said.

The man ran into the small foyer of Dooky Chase’s Restaurant to try to escape, she said. The restaurant was full at the time, and “because there was so much gunfire going on,” Kirkpatrick said, “three innocent bystanders were hit” in the foyer.

The three women who were shot and wounded were all tourists waiting for tables, Kirkpatrick said.

Two of those women were friends from Los Angeles, she said.

One of the friends was shot more than five times and suffered “very severe gunshot wounds,” the chief said.

“She has been in [the trauma intensive care unit] and has had several surgeries,” Kirkpatrick said at a news conference on Monday. “As of last night, she has come out of those surgeries successfully. She will be in the hospital for a couple weeks.”

The second woman from LA had surgery and has been upgraded to stable condition, the chief said.

The third woman, who was visiting from Florida, suffered graze wounds and was treated and released hours after the shooting, the chief said.

Police said they are looking for the unknown gunman, with the chief noting that “there’s some speculation [the gunman] may have been with others.”

The young man shot and killed was the target, the chief said, noting that it “appears to be a retaliatory-type of shooting.”

A reward of $13,500 is available, Darlene Cusanza of Crimestoppers Greater New Orleans said.

“The perpetrators ran within, right out of the restaurant. And so we know that people have seen something, because the event occurred on the street,” Kirkpatrick said. “I can understand that people are fearful about these things, but that’s why Crimestoppers is so important, because we don’t want your name, we only want your information.”

Dooky Chase, a New Orleans institution for Creole food, has been open for more than 80 years and has served as a meeting place for politicians, civil rights leaders and musicians. Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush have visited the establishment. Martin Luther King Jr. frequented the restaurant, the police chief said, noting that the shooting happened over MLK weekend.

The Chase family said in a statement, “Dooky Chase’s Restaurant has always been a place of gathering, culture, and care. We remain steadfast in our commitment to the people and community of New Orleans. As a family rooted in faith and community, we lift up in prayer all those impacted by this random and tragic incident.”

“We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of love and support for our guests, staff, family, and our historic restaurant during this difficult time,” the family added.

 ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the NATO countries who have sent small contingents of troops to Greenland amid the White House’s push to acquire the island will be charged a 10% tariff on all goods sent to the United States starting on Feb. 1.

The tariffs on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland will then increase to 25% on June 1, until the U.S. is able to purchase Greenland, according to the president.

Greenland is a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

“This is a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet. These Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable,” Trump posted on social media.

Trump, in his post, repeated his claim that China and Russia would threaten to take Greenland if the U.S. does not. He claimed Denmark cannot protect Greenland.

“Only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can play in this game, and very successfully, at that!” he said in the post.

Some leaders from the targeted countries slammed Trump over his tariff threats.

“France is committed to the sovereignty and independence of Nations,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement Saturday, adding that “no intimidation nor threat will influence us, neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world when we are confronted with such situations.”

“Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context. Europeans will respond to them in a united and coordinated manner if they were to be confirmed. We will know how to uphold European sovereignty,” Macron said.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement that “Applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is completely wrong.”

“Our position on Greenland is very clear – it is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and its future is a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes,” he said.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a statement Saturday that discussions are being had between the countries for a coordinated response.

“We will not let ourselves be blackmailed. Only Denmark and Greenland decide on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland,” he said. “I will always stand up for my country, and for our allied neighbors.”

Trump has said he would consider taking Greenland by force as an option to acquire the land.

Leaders from Greenland and Denmark, which governs international matters for the country, have repeatedly said Greenland is not for sale.

“It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told reporters after meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio Wednesday.

Rasmussen called that outcome “totally unacceptable.”

Several leaders from European nations, including France and Germany, have slammed Trump’s rhetoric and sent military forces to Greenland this week as part of training exercises launched by the Danish military.

Trump’s controversial plan to acquire Greenland has been met with disapproval on the island, where protests against the U.S. have taken place.

On Saturday, huge crowds hit the streets in Greenland lashing out at Trump over his proposal. A large crowd of protesters conducted a “Stop Trump” march through the streets of Nuuk.

Trump’s proposal has also not sat well among many Americans where people and leaders across the aisle have spoken out against the idea of acquiring Greenland.

A Quinnipiac University poll found 55% of voters are opposed to the United States trying to buy Greenland, with majorities of Democratic voters (85%) and Independent voters (58%) opposed and a majority of Republican voters in support (67%).

On Friday,  a bipartisan group of House members and senators traveled to Greenland and said they had “constructive” conversations with members of Denmark’s parliament.

The delegation said the visit was to nurture the relationship between Denmark, Greenland and the United States and to reassure NATO partners that many members of Congress do not support any effort by the United States to acquire Greenland.

“I think it’s important that it be recognized that when it comes to matters of relationships with our friends, with our allies, as we have here in Denmark, as we have in Greenland, that it is — it is not a subject of Republicans versus Democrats. It is a recognition, again, of a strong and continuing relationship over decades,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said.

Trump’s tariffs have been hit with lawsuits which have been appealed all the way the Supreme Court. It is not known when the high court will rule on the case.

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(NEW YORK) — Two winter storms will move through the East this weekend, with cold air coming right behind it in an arctic blast forecast for next week.

The first of the two storm systems will be a quick-moving, clipper system that continues to bring scattered snow showers to the Midwest and Great Lakes before bringing two rounds of snow for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic on Saturday.

The first round of snow showers moved through early Saturday morning from the central Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia and Virginia up into Pennsylvania, as well as New England. The next round moves in later Saturday morning.

By noon, there will be either snow or mixed conditions along the I-95 corridor from Baltimore to Philadelphia to New York City.

By mid-afternoon, Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia will be clear with New York City and Bridgeport, Connecticut, seeing a change to a light wintry mix as things begin drying up.

Most of New England will see snow on Saturday except along the coast. Boston is likely seeing mostly rain from this, but could get in on a wintry mix at times.

Heading into Saturday night, the first storm system moves out and things begin to clear out across the Northeast, with only a few isolated showers remaining.

The next storm system, which will be a coastal storm that forms off the Southeast coast early Sunday morning, will slide up the East Coast for Sunday.

A light wintry mix or snow will be present for parts of Georgia on Sunday morning by 8:00 a.m., with it possibly extending down to the Florida Panhandle. Atlanta could even get in on a few snow showers, while Macon, Georgia, is likely to see more concentrated wintry weather.

Rain elsewhere along the Southeast coast extends up into the Carolinas.

As the coastal storm moves up the East Coast later Sunday morning into the afternoon, the next round of snow looks to develop along the Northeast coast from Washington, D.C., to New York City to Boston. 

It’s not set yet who will see snow with this coastal storm, as it all depends on how close it is to the coast. There is a chance for more snow near the I-95 corridor. However, it’s becoming clearer that there’ll be more snow for areas along the coast rather than areas inland with this second storm system.

Overall, both of these storm systems will bring minor accumulations along the I-95 corridor and parts of New England.

Some higher snowfall amounts of 2 to 6 inches will be possible north and west of the I-95 corridor and parts of interior New England.

Behind these two systems will be a big arctic blast that will sweep across much of the Eastern and Central U.S. to start the new work week.

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(NEW YORK) — Athletes and fans will start arriving at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan next month, but one U.S. agency has been on the ground working to ensure safety at the games.

Special agents from the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) have been working with the local authorities in Italy since 2022 to secure the Winter Olympic games, according to two top officials involved in the planning.

As the State Department’s law enforcement arm, DSS is responsible for securing international events and embassies around the world. As they have in years past, the agency takes a front and center role in helping to secure the Olympic Games, working in concert with authorities from the host country.

“We have a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to provide intelligence and security support for them while they’re overseas to keep them safe so they can concentrate on winning the gold medals,” Timothy Ayers, the major events coordinator for DSS, told ABC News.

In addition to providing security for U.S. athletes, DSS also helps to provide security for American corporations that are on the ground at the games, and the agency is ready to deploy if something were to happen.

DSS also provides training for the host country in order to better work together, including bringing officials to National Special Security Events in the United States, such as the Super Bowl and The Masters.

“Our team is focused really on strengthening relationships with our Italian counterparts, both at the national and subnational level,” Nick Fanelli, the Olympic security coordinator in Milan, told ABC News. “A lot of our engagement started in Rome, with contacts within the ministries and then going down to the provincial level, making contacts with the provincial counterparts both from the local police and local governments down to municipal level.”

Fanelli has been in Italy for two years planning and creating on-the-ground relationships with Italian security services, he said.

Agents from DSS are physically embedded with the teams and in the Olympic village, according to Ayers.

Both said they see the lone wolf actor as the biggest threat to the games, but said there are no credible threats currently.

“One thing that we’re always concerned about at an Olympics or a World Cup is that lone wolf attack,” Ayers aid. “We’re very comfortable with the fact that we can track things that are organized and things like that … when things happen we can track those kinds of things, but that lone wolf attack, that lone actor, it’s very difficult to track as they’re acting on their own, they’re acting with less resources and they can do what they want so that is usually a very concerning thing.”

Given the sprawling nature of events at the games, securing the transportation is key, according to the two senior DSS agents.

“The Italians are supremely prepared for this,” Fanelli said. “They have been hosting a number of different exercises across fields, if you will, transportation structure, critical infrastructure, to stress test their systems, to iron out their communications, and we have a lot of redundant comps with them as well.”

He said that DSS has people on the ground in constant contact with Italian authorities should something happen, including putting an agent at every one of the events. Those agents could be a resource for U.S. citizens who attend the games, in addition to the athletes.

“My team and I know these venue managers very personally,” Fanelli said. “We know our security contacts and police contacts on a first name basis throughout all of Northern Italy. So, they know that if there’s an American citizen that’s in crisis or has an issue, in addition to following their normal protocols, they’re going to notify us as well, so we’ll get that information and we can marshal resources.”

Ayers said there will be over 100 agents in Milan for the games.

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(DANBURY, Conn.) — A man wanted for the fatal shooting of his neighbor, who was shot through a wall in a Connecticut townhouse last week, has been charged with manslaughter following his surrender, police said Friday.

Victor Quispe, 37, was shot inside his home in Danbury the night of Jan. 7, according to police. He was struck by a single round that traveled through a wall in the townhouse, police said. He was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The suspected gunman was not at the scene when police arrived, police said. Two days after the shooting, the City of Danbury Police Department said they had issued an arrest warrant for Quispe’s neighbor, 42-year-old David Grullon Jr., in connection with the homicide.

Grullon surrendered to police Thursday evening and has been charged with multiple offenses, including second-degree manslaughter, police said. Additional charges include reckless endangerment, risk of injury to a minor and firearm offenses, police said. 

His bond was set at $1 million during his arraignment on Friday. He has not posted bond and is next scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 2 for a plea hearing, according to a court official.

Police have not released any additional details on the shooting, including why Grullon allegedly discharged the firearm. 

“This matter remains under investigation,” the City of Danbury Police Department said in a statement on Friday announcing the arrest and charges in the deadly shooting. “No additional information will be released at this time to protect the integrity of the case.”

Grullon’s attorney, Gene Zingaro, told ABC News he has no comment on the charges at this time. Zingaro said he had picked Grullon up out of state and brought him in for a “safe surrender.”

“This was his request,” Zingaro said.

The shooting victim, Quispe, was a local barber known as Legends Barber Co. His fiancée is pregnant with their first child, according to a GoFundMe for the family.

“His generosity was boundless — he always remembered family back home, often providing meals or support to those in need,” his obituary stated. “His giving spirit extended to all of us; he was known for offering gifts so extravagant that we would lovingly argue with him about it.”

Quispe had moved to the U.S. from his native Peru at the age of five, his family said. He was remembered for his “contagious” laugh, sense of style, love of Peruvian food, “endless affection” and strong work ethic to provide for his family and first child, according to his obituary.

Quispe worked at Legends Barber Co. in Danbury, where he “wasn’t just a barber, but a trusted friend to countless people,” Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves said in a statement on social media last week.

One of his customers, Randy Hamilton, told ABC New York station WABC that Quispe was an “excellent barber,” but also a “good friend, good person.”

“I can always get a haircut, that’s nothing, I can get that from anywhere but the person that he was is like, you don’t find too many people like that,” Hamilton told the station.

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(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) — The Uvalde, Texas, gunman fired 117 rounds in two Robb Elementary School classrooms during a two-minute period before school police officer Adrian Gonzales entered the building, a Texas Ranger told jurors on Friday.

Ranger Nick Hill testified that Gonzales had a window of one minute and four seconds after he parked his car before gunman Salvador Ramos entered the school. Gonzales took three minutes and 53 seconds to enter Robb Elementary after parking his car, Hill said.

Hill said Gonzales parked at 11:31:55 a.m. and radioed in the active shooter report at 11:32:09 a.m.

Ramos entered the west side of Robb Elementary at 11:32:59 a.m., and, after firing 21 shots in a hallway, he entered the first of two classrooms at 11:33:45 a.m. Gonzales entered the south door of Robb Elementary at 11:35:48 a.m., Hill said.

In total, Ramos fired 173 shots during the massacre, while law enforcement discharged 25 rounds, Hill said. Ramos killed 19 students and two teachers.

Prosecutors allege Gonzales, who is charged with child endangerment, did not follow his training and endangered the 19 students who died and an additional 10 surviving students. Prosecutors allege Gonzales not only failed when he arrived at the scene, but also when he got into the school because he retreated after two other officers were hit by gunfire.

Gonzales has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers argue he is being unfairly blamed for a broader law-enforcement failure that day. The defense argued Gonzales did everything he could, including calling in the shooting and attempting to enter the school. 

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(HOUSTON) — A man has been arrested and charged with murder in an apparent case of mistaken identity that turned deadly early Christmas Day, according to police.

Jonathan Ross Mata, 39, was charged on Wednesday with the murder of 25-year-old Desmond Butler, according to the Houston Police Department.

Investigators said that Mata and his wife received a phone call from their daughter telling them she had been assaulted by her boyfriend. They then drove to a gas station parking lot in the 9900 block of Bellaire, expecting their daughter to be dropped off, according to Houston Police.

As Butler’s gray Honda Pilot drove into the parking lot around 1 a.m., police said he passed Mata’s black GMC, which was parked at one of the pumps. As Butler drove past, a woman got out of the GMC and began chasing his vehicle and attempting to open the back passenger door of the Honda, believing Mata’s daughter was inside, police said.

At the same time, Mata exited the GMC and fired his gun at the victim’s vehicle as it exited the parking lot, according to police.

Butler, police said, then attempted to drive away when he was struck by gunfire and crashed his vehicle into a pole in an adjacent parking lot. The suspects got back into their vehicle and drove northbound on the feeder road, authorities said.

Butler was taken to a local hospital by paramedics and was later pronounced dead, according to police.

Mata and Butler did not know each other, police said.

Mata turned himself into police on Wednesday and has been booked into the Harris County Jail. 

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