A Department of Homeland Security undercover agent lost a concealed recording device on the floor of a Minneapolis church gymnasium that a federal court had barred DHS from investigating.
University Baptist Church in Minneapolis's Dinkytown neighborhood is a member of the Alliance of Baptists and the American Baptist Churches USA — both of which are covered by a federal injunction blocking DHS from conducting immigration enforcement actions at their properties.
U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV signed that injunction in February, according to MPR News. It explicitly bans "investigation" at covered churches and warns that violations could result in sanctions against DHS officials and agents.
The surveillance came to light this week through court filings in the federal conspiracy case against 15 anti-ICE protesters known as the Minnesota 15, MPR News reported.
According to a Homeland Security Investigations report filed in the case, an undercover agent arrived at the church gymnasium on May 28 to attend a boxing and sparring session held by a progressive martial arts group called Left Jab following the killings of ICE protesters Alex Pretty and Renee Good.
"Due to the physicality of the event, UCA-5022's concealed body-worn audio recorder erroneously fell to the floor of the gymnasium near the end of the training. UCA-5022 briefly left the gymnasium, realized she no longer had the device, and returned to the gymnasium to retrieve the device from the floor," the report said, according to court documents.
The church had posted signs on its property stating that federal agents were not permitted on the premises under the court order, the report said.
Interim pastor Rev. Cody J. Sanders said church leaders had no idea the surveillance had occurred until defense attorneys filed the motion for discovery this week, according to MPR News.
"We will continue to insist that solidarity with our most vulnerable neighbors is the way that we best follow the ways of Jesus in the world," Sanders told MPR News.
Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office responded to MPR News's requests for comment.
