Heavily armed federal agents stationed themselves outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Eugene, Ore. (Photo by Paul Jeffrey)
Oregon-Idaho Conference | Jan. 29, 2026
Since September, an interfaith group of individuals has been gathering on Tuesdays outside the federal building in Eugene to sing songs of protest against the aggressive tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
For nearly five months, the noon-time singing, praying and poetry gathering has been peaceful, with little conflict with the law enforcement agencies housed inside the building, said Naphtali Renshaw of the BeLonging Space, which coordinates Sing for Our Lives with the Interfaith Alliance for Migrants. Additionally, the Lane County Immigrant Defense Network protests on the last Tuesday of the month at the building around the same time.
But that changed on Tuesday. News reports of the event indicate that the first show of force happened during the event Renshaw organizes as part of her work with BeLonging Space, a community organizing and justice-oriented ministry in Eugene founded by United Methodists in 2021.
“The aggression and escalation was 100 percent from federal agents,” Renshaw said. “They brought in an unprecedented number of federal agents.”
Pepper balls were shed in the afternoon, and tear gas and flash bangs were used on the crowd – that ebbed and flowed from one protest group to another – in the evening. Renshaw was hit with pepper balls at least twice throughout the day and was hit by tear gas in the evening, she said.
“There’s still some tear gas in the back of my throat,” Renshaw said on Wednesday.
Rev. Ryan Scott, lead pastor of Eugene First UMC, said he and other UMC clergy and even members of his congregation were part of Tuesday’s singing when federal agents became entangled with their group.
“I was trying to figure out what was happening because it was very unprovoked,” he said. “People were mostly out on the sidewalks.”
He said when the first two peaceful protestors were detained, one by use of pepper spray, he saw faith leaders and medical professionals provide care while he and a local rabbi went to the doors of the federal building to try and de-escalate the situation as protestors demanded the release of the two individuals detained.
“I’ve been in protest positions with police presence before, but this was different. It felt a lot more aggressive,” Scott said. “I think things tended to escalate throughout the day.”
He left for a while, but came back by the building as he was walking back toward the church in the afternoon and reported seeing someone running away from the federal building as pepper bullets were being shot.A vigil held around 5 p.m. by local nurses to mourn the death of Alex Pretti was mostly peaceful, as reported by local news sources. But afterward, the aggression continued.
United Methodist Linda Ague attends a vigil in Eugene, Ore. (Photo by Paul Jeffrey)
Linda Ague, a member of Eugene First UMC, believes the time to be a bystander to the increased federal enforcement and violence has passed. She regularly attends the Singing for Our Lives event and other demonstrations.
But Tuesday was something different. It came just days after Pretti’s death in Minneapolis, which may result in some scaling back of ICE activity in Minnesota as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security comes under increasing scrutiny.
“We’re sitting there with nothing, nobody has a weapon,” Ague said. “But (the agents) looked like an army. I would like to think it's the last 'hurrah' before they all disappear.”
Kristen Caldwell
Kristen Caldwell, communications associate, Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference.
Kristen Caldwell is director of communications for the Oregon-Idaho Conference of The United Methodist Church. This article is republished from the conference website.