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🚫 5 warrants denied in Cities Church case

May 29, 2026 · — Adam Sage

Happy Friday, Twin Cities! It’s Adam today. It's a big weekend as per usual around town; you can see some high-flying acrobatics at Cirque Mechanics tonight for $8 at the Ordway (part of the free Flint Hills Family Festival), celebrate your favorite avian and aquatic friends at the Crow Picnic and Turtle Fest, and find some great deals at the Victory neighborhood garage sales, the West 7th neighborhood garage sales, and the North Star Flea Market.

Keep reading for more great stuff to do this weekend. ⬇️

Today’s Must-Know

Looking upward at brick Gothic Revival style church building, modern signage in foreground that reads, "Cities Church"
A federal judge has pushed back on investigators in the cases involving Cities Church protesters. (Stephen Maturen / Stringer)

Search Warrants Fail to Pass Legal Standards in Cities Church Protest Case

As the court cases continue to play out for the folks charged with interfering with a religious service at the Cities Church in St. Paul, newly released documents reveal missteps by the prosecution. [MPR News]

  • Recap: Protesters interrupted a service at the Cities Church in January after learning that one of the pastors, David Easterwood, was also serving as the acting director of ICE's field office in St. Paul. The Department of Justice indicted a total of 39 people on conspiracy and intimidation charges, including journalists Georgia Fort and Don Lemon who were present to document the protest as members of the press. [KARE 11 / Star Tribune]
  • Blunders: A Homeland Security Investigations agent requested five search warrants to look into the defendants, including requests for YouTube account information like subscriber lists and email addresses from Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, as well as phone information from activists Nekima Levy Armstrong and William Kelly. A federal judge denied all five warrants, saying "none of these probable cause statements actually set out probable cause." Later in the case, charges were dismissed for one of the defendants after she proved she had not even attended the protest, as prosecutors had apparently mistaken her for someone else. [MPR News / New York Times]
  • Broader impact: Since the Cities Church protest, at least four Republican-led states have passed new laws criminalizing the disruption of worship services. Critics in both parties expect that these laws could face court challenges for infringing on free speech. [Associated Press]

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What the Cities Are Talking About

How much fault lies with Frey? Following Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara's resignation, multiple members of the Minneapolis City Council have leveled criticism at Mayor Jacob Frey for his decision to renominate O'Hara for chief earlier this month despite knowing of open complaints and an investigation into him. [MPR News]

Fun? run: Think happy thoughts for the insane folks running the Taco Bell 50k on Sunday. The unlucky souls who signed up for the sold-out endeavor will be attempting to run 31 miles from Bloomington to St. Paul, eating at least one item from each of the seven Taco Bell locations on the way. Godspeed. 🫡 [Taco Bell 50k]

Her for Craig: St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her has endorsed Rep. Angie Craig for Senate, and the members of St. Paul's Reddit community have thoughts. Craig recently decided not to attend this weekend's DFL Convention in Rochester leaving Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan unopposed for the DFL endorsement. [Washington Post]

Group of adults stand around memorial on sidewalk in winter, snow covers much of the ground
Community members took over Eat Street and peacefully gathered to mourn the death of Alex Pretti on Jan. 24. (Adam Sage / City Cast Twin Cities)

MPD's costly winter: City officials are questioning why the Minneapolis Police Department spent millions on overtime pay during Operation Metro Surge given that they were rarely responding to ICE-related emergency calls. Officials justify the $10 million in overtime because they had to keep officers on the clock on standby in case tensions spiralled out of control. "We didn’t really believe that Eat Street had a chance to make it through that night after Alex Pretti was murdered," Deputy Chief of Patrol Mark Klukow said. [Star Tribune]

Play on Payne: Starting next Monday, an old parking lot at 926 Payne Ave. will be repurposed into a free community gathering space offering seating, story times for kids, World Cup viewing parties, and more all summer long. The initiative is called "Play on Payne," and organizers hope that it will drive daily activity along the Payne Ave. corridor and help support St. Paul businesses that were heavily impacted by Operation Metro Surge. [Pioneer Press]

What to Do

Friday, May 29

Saturday, May 30

Sunday, May 31

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Pom Poms is 12 years old and every bit as sweet as he looks. (Tiffany Bui / City Cast Twin Cities)

This week's Friday Floof features a new member of the City Cast family! My fellow producer Tiffany Bui just adopted this adorable little pomeranian, and here's what she has to say about him:

"Pom Poms is a fluffy gentleman who loves fruits and veggies, but his absolute favorite is strawberries. He got his first cup of doggy-safe ice cream after we endured this week's sizzling temps!"

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