Allendale United Methodist Church is known for its political activism, whether that's in the form of progressively-leaning political statements on its signs or its pastor speaking at a protest.
In March, they projected a message reading "Abolish ICE" next to rainbow-colored lights on the side of the church. Other messages posted on its sign have read "white supremacy is the real crisis" and "no one is eating the pets."
And on June 14, Pastor Andy Oliver protested outside the Pinellas County Jail against operations by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Three days later, over a dozen Pinellas County Sheriff's Office vehicles were parked in the church's parking lot for almost four hours — and Oliver wasn't happy.
In a video posted on Facebook, Oliver approached the deputies and told them they needed to leave. Then the church sent the sheriff's office a $10,000 invoice.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office declined requests for a comment.
Oliver said he was concerned it was an ICE operation because many people from his congregation are immigrants.
"We serve people who are undocumented, black and brown people, LGBTQ people and the sheriff's office is not really a safe space for those groups," he said.
While the deputies in the video said it was not an ICE operation and left within a minute, Oliver said they disrupted the community.
"I had a lot of families that came in. I had to go talk to those families and apologize," he said.
In the invoice, Oliver said the money paid would be sent to a nonprofit that supports immigrants. He did not want to say which organization he would send the money to.
"Just to make it clear that they are not welcome to use our property without permission, they're not welcome to stage there, and we will take further legal action if we need to," Oliver said.
He said the officers did damage and harm just by being there and hurt Allendale's reputation of being a safe space.
"I honestly don't expect them to pay the 10,000," he said. "It was more to make a point."
Oliver added he is worried this was a targeted operation since he was one of the speakers protesting ICE outside the Pinellas County Jail.
"If we find out that's the case, then we will consult with our lawyers," he said.
Oliver also said he has a close relationship with the St. Petersburg Police Department, so they still have law enforcement officers they trust if needed.
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