Last weekend, on Sunday, January 18, a group of roughly 40 anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters entered Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, during a morning worship service. They chanted "ICE out!" and demanded justice for Renee Good — the woman lethally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on January 7 after she hit him with her vehicle while obstructing a federal immigration operation. The protesters targeted this particular church because one of its pastors, David Easterwood, is also the acting field director for the local ICE office.The disruption deeply upset congregants and scared young children, resulting in multiple 911 calls. The U.S. Department of Justice is now investigating the incident for possible civil rights violations of the FACE Act, which makes it a federal crime to use force, the threat of force, or physical obstruction to intentionally injure, intimidate, or interfere with someone exercising or seeking to exercise their First Amendment right to religious freedom at a place of worship.When BlazeTV host Steve Deace saw the video footage of the protest, he was enraged — not just with the protesters themselves but with the congregation’s weak response.On this episode of the “Steve Deace Show,” Deace delivers a scathing critique of feeble churches and calls them to implement a four-step plan immediately to protect themselves from leftist revolutionaries. For years now, Deace has been warning that if conservatives fail to develop a “mutually assured destruction deterrent” to defend themselves against the violent left, they will surely be wiped out.“There is no trend line I am more concerned about in terms of where we are as a society than this one,” he says. “This is human nature 101: Whatever bad behavior you do not punish, you will get more of, and it will escalate, and it will get worse.”For far too long, however, leftists' growing extremism and violence have gone largely unchallenged, which only bolsters their confidence in continuing to push the line.Comparing the left to a swarm of locusts, Deace says that “now that they have consumed every social institution ... and civic institution that [matters], they will now go after the sacred ones,” which has always been the left's “endgame.”This is exactly what Satan wants, Deace says.“He looks to our enemies on the left and says, ‘There's no one here to stop you. You have no resistance. Do whatever you want. Fly every freak flag you have. Shove it right down their throats. No resistance. In fact, you are the resistance.”’“And then he says to us, ‘Oh, look the people you vote for, look at what cowards they are. Look how treacherous and feckless they are. No one is coming to save you. When's the shooting start?"’And then Satan will revel in “the carnage of a once-great civilization.”Deace warns that the clock to collapse is ticking — and Millennials and Zoomers will pay the highest price if older generations fail to “bring the sword of righteousness and be avenging angels against evildoers.”What happened at Cities Church in St. Paul last weekend is evidence that our time is almost up. If we fail to act boldly now, the left will cross more lines until there are none left to cross.“If they now feel emboldened to go into your churches, there's nowhere they don't feel emboldened, including your homes, and that will be next,” says Deace.“So then what is a proper biblical response to [what happened in Cities Church]?” he asks.“Number one: You need to teach people from the pulpit what power under control looks like — what Romans 13 really means. They have to be equipped with this in their hearts and minds, or they won't act on it properly. We are not a rival lynch mob. ... We're not pushovers though either.”“Number two: There should always be numerous armed men in the church every Sunday — numerous. There should be a sign posted outside: ‘There are men in this church who are weapons-trained, and if threatened, this congregation will use them.”’“Number three: The men make a defensive posture between the radicals, the rioters, the criminals, the ne'er-do-wells, the knuckle-draggers, the shooters, and the women and children. And while doing so, the men make it known, ‘You are running out of time before we will act offensively.”’Number four: “If that doesn't work, you act — act!” Deace shouts.“You have rights. You are an American. Paul used his rights as a Roman citizen. Use yours. That's your land. Those are your loved ones. Those are your freedoms, your liberties. You have every right to defend them. In fact, I would argue you have a mandate to.”To hear more of Deace’s fiery monologue, watch the video above.Want more from Steve Deace?To enjoy more of Steve's take on national politics, Christian worldview, and principled conservatism with a snarky twist, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

The mullahs of Iran have resumed the familiar work of slaughtering their own people. (Again!) The United States can respond without firing a shot — and without waiting months for a traditional embargo to bite.It can impose an electronic embargo.An electro-embargo could do something sanctions often cannot: break the regime’s control quickly enough to matter while the killing is still underway.Washington could pursue this approach unilaterally, or it could press the United Nations to authorize it under Article 41 of the U.N. Charter, which empowers the Security Council to order measures “not involving the use of armed force,” including the partial or complete interruption of “postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication.” The text already exists.The question is whether anyone has the imagination — and the nerve — to use it.The electronic advantageIn the context of Iran’s continuing humanitarian emergency, the United States, with a bit of diplomatic legerdemain from Ambassador to the U.N. Michael Waltz, could challenge the Security Council to act. China and Russia sit on the council. They will posture. They will threaten vetoes. But even a public debate would force them to explain why the world should tolerate a regime that murders civilian protesters in the streets.If the Security Council approves an Article 41 action, the United States could then present its combatant commanders with something Iran has never faced at scale: an embargo not on goods but on electrons.Physical embargoes remain a standard tool of statecraft. They also take time. Iran can evade, reroute, smuggle, barter, and stall. An electronic embargo moves at the speed of light.Target Iran’s hardline regime — not the Iranian people — by degrading the communications infrastructure that allows the government to command and control its security forces and manage the extraction and export of oil, its primary source of hard currency.Strike the regime’s hardened telephone and cellular systems, satellite communications, and broadcast television.Cripple the internal nervous system that keeps the state coordinated, disciplined, and armed.The effect would be immediate. A regime that cannot communicate cannot coordinate raids, deploy forces efficiently, jam dissident signals, or maintain operational tempo. It cannot manage a modern oil export apparatus without functioning networks. It cannot run a crackdown in real time if it loses the ability to issue orders and track compliance.The ‘Venezuelan formula’Just as important, an electronic embargo could reverse the regime’s favorite trick: cutting the Iranian people off from each other and from the outside world. Tehran has already tried to block the internet and throttle social media. A targeted electronic campaign could negate that control and unleash an information tsunami — one the mullahs cannot shape, censor, or contain.That shift matters. When citizens can communicate, organize, document, and broadcast, repression becomes harder and riskier. The regime loses its monopoly on narrative. Fear starts to spread in the other direction.RELATED: Memo to Hegseth: Our military’s problem isn’t only fitness. It’s bad education. erhui1979 via iStock/Getty ImagesOne can imagine a greatly expanded “Venezuelan formula”: degrade internal communications, then use broadcast means to confuse and complicate the regime’s grip on what is happening — while simultaneously encouraging the population to resist theocratic authority. The goal would not be spectacle. The goal would be collapse: the steady unraveling of the regime’s confidence, coherence, and control.In this mode, a combatant commander could employ SOFTWAR principles to engage and degrade the mullahs through coordinated, non-kinetic lines of operation. Properly executed, such a campaign would affect nearly every aspect of Iranian society — and it would do so without turning Iranian cities into ruins.A greater strategic payoff: ChinaThe strategic payoff for the United States extends beyond moral clarity. It comes down to oil — and to China.The recent decapitation of the Maduro junta in Venezuela proved a point many analysts ignore. The key factor is not the quantity of oil in a given country. It is control of the flow of oil. Energy states matter because they can fuel, fund, and sustain adversaries.If the mullahs fall, China loses a major energy supplier at a moment when it can least afford disruption. Beijing’s ambitions depend on stable inputs. Xi Jinping’s dream of Chinese communist hegemony runs on energy. Remove an important provider, and you squeeze China’s strategic bandwidth — again.That result alone justifies exploring an electronic embargo.This is not a call for war. It is a call to use power creatively, within the bounds of international law when possible, and in defense of a population being beaten, shot, and silenced by its rulers.The mullahs survive by controlling the physical streets and the electronic space above them. Take away the second, and the first becomes harder to hold.An electro-embargo would not solve every problem. But it could do something sanctions often cannot: break the regime’s control quickly enough to matter while the killing is still underway.

The House Oversight Committee revealed Wednesday that it plans to depose Ghislaine Maxwell next month as part of the committee’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation.Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in a Texas prison for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse children, is scheduled to testify virtually on February 9 in a closed session. 'Ms. Maxwell will invoke her privilege against self-incrimination.'Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) stated during a Wednesday hearing, “We need to hear from Ghislaine Maxwell. We’ve been trying to get her in for a deposition, and her lawyers have been saying that she’s going to plead the Fifth. But we have nailed down a date, February 9, where Ghislaine Maxwell will be deposed by this committee.”Comer stated that he hopes Maxwell changes her mind about invoking the Fifth Amendment.David Oscar Markus, Maxwell's attorney, wrote in a Tuesday letter to Comer, “Ms. Maxwell will invoke her privilege against self-incrimination and decline to answer questions.”Markus claimed moving forward with deposition would serve “no other purpose than pure political theater and a complete waste of taxpayer monies.”RELATED: Clintons defy Epstein subpoenas — but Glenn Beck says DON’T jail them. Here’s his shocking reason why. James Comer. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images“That is not a negotiating position or a tactical choice; it is a legal necessity,” Markus stated. He claimed that his client’s "post-conviction litigation is far from over,” referring to a pending habeas petition seeking to vacate her conviction.Maxwell filed the petition in December, arguing that her conviction must be voided because a juror gave false answers during the selection process, “concealing a history of sexual abuse directly relevant to ‘issues at trial.’” She also claimed that prosecutors concealed a detective’s grand jury testimony that “conflicted with his trial testimony.”RELATED: 'We need no such protection': Clinton accuses Trump of selectively releasing Epstein files — and calls for complete release Ghislaine Maxwell. Photo by Paul Zimmerman/WireImageDemocrats on the committee accused Comer of treating Bill and Hillary Clinton differently from Maxwell, claiming he was allowing Maxwell to avoid answering to lawmakers.Comer disputed that claim, arguing that Maxwell has been willing to appear before the committee, while the Clintons have “refused to appear,” altogether ignoring the committee’s subpoenas. “One of the proposals that Clinton made was, if we would let Hillary Clinton off, then Mr. Garcia and I could travel to Mr. Clinton’s house and bring one staffer and take notes, but no transcript,” Comer said, referring to the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.). “That’s not even a thing, and you all know that.”“What few counterproposals that the Clintons’ massive legal team has made aren’t acceptable,” Comer stated.Comer noted that the committee has been negotiating with the Clintons’ lawyers for five months.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A gun-control advocate apologized and claimed to accidentally accuse President Donald Trump of being involved in the Epstein trafficking ring.Cameron Kasky made the comments while speaking on a CNN panel before posting his apology on social media on Tuesday. Many called on the president to sue the activist over the comments that could be considered slanderous. 'I said that by accident and didn’t mean it.'Kasky was confronted by commentator Scott Jennings during the segment, which led Kasky to repeat the claim. He was singing a far different tune the next day."I would like to retract my comments from CNN last night and truly apologize," Kasky wrote. "Donald Trump was obviously not involved with a giant international child sex trafficking ring where women and children were systematically raped by elites," he added. "I said that by accident and didn’t mean it."Some online believed the tone of the message was sarcastic. While the president had a past connection to Jeffrey Epstein, he has never been convicted of participating in Epstein's alleged sex-trafficking ring. The billionaire financier later accepted a plea deal where he admitted guilt to a felony state charge of soliciting a minor for sex.Kasky became an advocate for gun control after surviving the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018. He has since spoken at rallies and in the media about restricting gun rights. RELATED: The Clintons refuse to testify in Jeffrey Epstein probe — GOP threatens contempt of Congress Epstein was found dead in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial for additional sex-trafficking charges in 2019. The allegations that he orchestrated an underage sex-trafficking ring for the wealthy and powerful have led to many suspicions that he was killed to avoid incriminating alleged co-conspirators.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other law enforcement officers have been facing interference from the public, especially since the January 7 death of Renee Good after she nearly ran over an ICE officer with her vehicle during an immigration operation. Not to be outdone with their spread of chaos and confusion, leftists have now apparently expanded their targets to non-ICE operations and putting other police investigations in jeopardy. 'Deranged liberals are interrupting non-ICE police actions because Democratic leaders have whipped them into a frenzy.'On Wednesday, the Brewer Police Department in Maine reported an incident in which a woman allegedly interfered with a police investigation into a threat at a school — an investigation that had nothing to do with immigration operations.The investigation involved a threat involving a person of interest who "had communicated an intent to kill school staff and others."RELATED: More UNHINGED anti-ICE extremist footage: 'I am a liberal, leftist, pagan, lesbian, transgender woman, and witch!' Staff photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty ImagesAccording to the police department's Facebook post, officers staged a meet-up at a residence to "safely contact the person of interest."However, "at approximately 8:16 a.m.," an activist began interfering in the attempt to contact the person of interest, police claimed. She allegedly repeatedly sounded an air horn, refused lawful orders to leave, yelled expletives at the officers, and shouted that she "didn't want ICE" in her neighborhood."Her actions interfered with legitimate law enforcement operations and created a real risk to the investigating officers," the statement said.Investigators later found that the person of interest was not responsible for the threats and that multiple schools had "received similar threats that morning, consistent with 'swatting' incidents." The Maine Wire's Steve Robinson slammed the incident on X: "Deranged liberals are interrupting non-ICE police actions because Democratic leaders have whipped them into a frenzy. Today it was an unidentified white female using an air horn to disrupt an investigation into threats against a school." "When will these agitators get charged?" Robinson added. In an update to the Brewer Police Department's Facebook post, the woman suspected of interfering with the operation was identified as Mary Conmee, 63, of Orrington, a town just a few miles southwest of Brewer. Conmee has been summonsed for the offenses of disorderly conduct and obstructing government administration. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!