(The Center Square) — Religious groups are suing dozens of members of activist group, Code Pink, for protests that disrupted worship services by Christian and Jewish organizations, a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court Southern District of California alleges.
The Christian & Jewish Alliance and Ezra Ministries, which does business as The Mission Church, are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, along with one of the members of The Christian & Jewish Alliance, according to the lawsuit filed Nov. 4.
“This is a very real instance of religious persecution, of both Jews and Christians who are brave enough to stand with them,” Kayla Toney, a lawyer at First Liberty Institute, the law firm that filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs, told The Center Square. “I would say our clients are courageous. They do not want this kind of disruption or intimidation to happen to any other people of faith in this country.”
Jones Day, another law firm that represents the plaintiffs in the case, is credited with filing the lawsuit alongside First Liberty Institute, according to a press release about the case.
The lawsuit asks the court to grant The Christian & Jewish Alliance and The Mission Church damages and compensation, although it doesn’t stipulate any specific amount for either organization.
The organization the protestors were allegedly affiliated with, Code Pink, are said in the lawsuit to have targeted worship services held by the two groups three times in 2025. Each time, these protestors allegedly blocked entrances and exits in the building, interrupted worship services and yelled at those in attendance at the service, including small children, according to the lawsuit. Once inside the building where worship services took place, members of Code Pink would allegedly start to shout at worshippers, causing chaos both inside and outside the building, Toney told The Center Square.
“The Mission Church is a very faithful church that is brave enough to preach the Bible in Southern California, and I think that right there draws some heat,” Toney told The Center Square. “It shouldn’t, but I think the persecution is really focused on coming after churches who are brave enough to preach about the people of God and stand with the people of God and the nation of Israel.”
The disruptions to worship services held by both organizations has instilled real fear into those who have tried to attend, Toney told The Center Square. That fear stems from physical confrontations the lawsuit alleges were caused by Code Pink protestors, one of whom is said in the lawsuit to have jumped on the car of a couple who were driving into the parking lot to attend the service.
“A masked person holding a vulgar sign jumped onto the hood of our car, screaming and banging on the windshield,” Ruth Mastron, who tried to attend a Sept. 7 worship service, said in a press release about the lawsuit. “We just want to be able to gather safely, pray, and worship together without fearing for our lives.”
Mastron, who is named individually as a plaintiff in the suit, is the only person named alongside The Mission Church and The Christian & Jewish Alliance as plaintiffs in the case.
“We at The Mission Church simply want to be able to worship and support our local Jewish community without fear or intimidation,” said JC Cooper, a pastor at The Mission Church, in the press release. “It’s of the utmost importance that our congregation feels safe in our house of worship.”
Members of The Mission Church and The Christian & Jewish Alliance were not available to answer questions on Wednesday. Organizers of Code Pink did not respond to emails from The Center Square on Wednesday.
Code Pink is an activist organization that says it aims to advocate for an end to war, equal access to education and housing, among other goals. Protestors and organizers with Code Pink have been in the news recently as the U.S. Department of Justice and the White House have called for investigations into groups considered to be part of “the radical left,” according to Axios. The group also claimed credit for a protest outside a Washington, D.C. restaurant where President Donald Trump was having dinner, according to NBC News.
