Homeland Security and FBI agents arrested three protesters in connection with a demonstration that interrupted Sunday service at a church in Minneapolis, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday on social media.
The protesters — Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly — and others involved in the demonstration objected to a pastor at Cities Church who they said works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Meanwhile, a federal magistrate judge rejected a criminal complaint against journalist Don Lemon, who said he was at the church protest because he was reporting on it, according to a source familiar with the matter, who described Bondi as “enraged” by the decision.
Several organizers of the protest were calling for the resignation of pastor David Easterwood, who they say is also the acting director of an ICE field office in St. Paul. In that role, Easterwood spoke alongside Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about ICE activity in October, according to video from NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis.
Noem shared a photo of Armstrong’s arrest on social media Thursday, saying she was being held on conspiracy charges alleging that she played “a key role in orchestrating the Church Riots in St. Paul, Minnesota.”
“Religious freedom is the bedrock of the United States — there is no First Amendment right to obstruct someone from practicing their religion,” Noem said.
Jordan Kushner, Armstrong’s attorney, said in a phone call Thursday afternoon that his client was “arrested for doing a peaceful nonviolent protest in a church” and that demonstrators “were engaged in an exercise of free speech.”
Justice Department officials had said they were pursuing the investigation based upon the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994, which covers reproductive health services, as well as places of worship, under a compromise legislators reached in the wake of several killings of abortion doctors.
Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn.Angelina Katsanis / AP
Kushner said he has not yet received official documentation about what charges Armstrong faces. She is being detained at the federal courthouse, he said.
In a social media post, DHS said Allen “has been charged with conspiracy to deprive rights for her role in the St. Paul church riots.”
Allen is a St. Paul school board member.
NBC News has reached out to Allen for comment but did not immediately receive a response. An attorney has not been yet listed for her.
Kelly, a who goes by the username “DaWokeFarmer” on social media, could not be reached for comment Thursday, and an attorney has not yet been listed for him.
He posted a video on TikTok about three hours before his arrest Thursday condemning Armstrong’s arrest.
“My lawyers tell me they have no f—— case,” Kelly said in the video, adding that using the FACE Act to justify the arrests “is complete bulls—.”
Kelly was among the protesters in the church. He posted two videos on TikTok showing his participation Sunday.
Videos from inside the church showed dozens of demonstrators marching as they chanted “ICE out” and “David Easterwood, out now.”
Rebecca, a churchgoer who witnessed the protest and asked that her last name be withheld because of privacy concerns, told NBC News on Wednesday that she began hearing voices coming from the back of the church after congregants ended a prayer during Sunday’s service.
The pastor then invited the people in the back to sit, but they remained standing and started chanting “ICE Out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” Rebecca said, adding that Sunday was the first time she had attended services at Cities Church.
Churchgoers began whispering to one another about what to do, and then several children burst into tears during the commotion, Rebecca said. Some families streamed out, while others shouted at the protesters to leave.
Rebecca said that when she decided to leave, a protester approached her asking, “You call this house of the Lord, but you have an ICE director for pastor?” Rebecca said she was shocked to learn that, because she doesn’t approve of the tactics being used by immigration officers.
“We’re seeing evil happen, seeing a lot of dehumanizing,” Rebecca said, adding that she never feared for her safety while the protest happened in the church. “There are no do’s and don’ts with protests.”
In a statement Tuesday, Cities Church condemned the protest, saying demonstrators “accosted members of our congregation, frightened children, and created a scene marked by intimidation and threat.”
“Such conduct is shameful, unlawful, and will not be tolerated,” it said, adding that it was “evaluating next steps with our legal counsel.”
The scenes sparked intense reactions online and from Trump administration officials, prompting the Justice Department to launch an investigation Monday.
In a livestream with Lemon, Armstrong said, “They cannot pretend to be a house of God while harboring someone who is directing ICE agents to wreak havoc among our community, and who killed Renee Good!”
Armstrong, who is also an ordained minister and a civil rights attorney, told NBC News on Monday that the church invited them in, so she took it as an “opportunity for dialogue” and wanted to raise awareness with the congregation about who Easterwood is so members could decide whether they feel comfortable taking their families to the congregation.
The arrests came after demonstrations intensified across Minnesota in the wake of Good’s fatal shooting by an ICE officer on Jan. 7.
Doug Wardlow, director of litigation at True North Legal, the group providing legal representation to Cities Church, said in a statement Thursday: “The arrests and the prosecutions to follow will help ensure that mob aggression like Cities Church experienced will not be repeated in any other house of worship.”
