2 More Arrested in Connection With Minnesota Church Protest

The Justice Department said on Feb. 2 it had arrested two more suspects in connection with the protest that disrupted a church service in Minnesota last month.

The protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s activities in the city occurred at Cities Church in St. Paul on Jan. 18. Three initial suspects were arrested on Jan. 22 for alleged violations of federal law, including the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act of 1994, which also applies to interference with religious worship.

“We have made two more arrests in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota: Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote. “If you riot in a place of worship, we WILL find you,” she added.

Protesters entered the church during a Sunday service and began chanting slogans opposing ICE’s removal operations targeting illegal immigrants and other foreign nationals in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area. Video footage shows the protesters shouting at parishioners.

David Easterwood, one of eight pastors at the church, has served as the acting director of ICE’s St. Paul Field Office.

The three initial suspects—Nekima Levy-Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and William Kelly—were arrested during an early morning raid by special agents of the FBI and ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division. The three were charged with felony offenses under federal law for conspiracy to violate someone’s constitutional or civil rights and carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

“They accosted members of our congregation, frightened children, and created a scene marked by intimidation and threat,” Cities Church wrote in a statement on its website.

“Church buildings are meant to be places of peace and solace, where worshipers can hear and live out this message,” the church stated. “We therefore call on local, state, and national leaders to protect this fundamental right,” it added.

The defendants have disputed these claims in court filings.

“Contrary to the charges, there was no intent to deprive anyone of their right to worship, but the desire was to initiate a debate about religious values,” attorneys for Levy-Armstrong and Allen wrote in court filings. “The action was not only an exercise of free speech but also an expression of the Defendants own religious beliefs,” the attorneys added.

Apart from these defendants, four other suspects have been charged, including former CNN newsman Don Lemon, who was arrested on Jan. 29 by the Justice Department. Lemon was charged with offenses arising from his news coverage of the protest and his alleged conduct and released without bond.

The other three suspects are Georgia Ellyse Fort, Jamael Lydell Lundy, and Trahern Jeen Crews.

Since Dec. 1, federal law enforcement officers of various agencies—ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and others—have been deployed in large numbers to the Minneapolis and St. Paul area under Operation Metro Surge as part of the Trump administration’s immigration law enforcement effort.

The operation has been opposed by the state of Minnesota and both cities, which have sued Noem in federal court to block it. A federal judge on Jan. 31 declined to grant an injunction blocking law enforcement officers’ deployment.

Numerous demonstrations have occurred in response to the operation, with protesters confronting officers while they perform arrests.

The protests against ICE intensified after two U.S. citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed during interactions with law enforcement officers in Minnesota. Activist groups and Democratic officials have criticized the shootings, while federal officials have defended the actions of the officers.