Three people arrested over Minnesota church protest

By Rich Matthews, Andrew Hay and Andrew Goudsward

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan 22 (Reuters) – Federal agents have arrested three Minnesota protesters who took part in a demonstration inside a church against a pastor they say has a leadership role with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency carrying out aggressive raids in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Thursday FBI and Homeland Security agents took part in the arrests of civil rights activists Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Louisa Allen, who helped organize the protest.  William Kelly, an anti-ICE activist and Army veteran, was also arrested, Bondi said. FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that Levy Armstrong faced charges under a federal law that bars physical obstruction of houses of worship.

A U.S. magistrate judge in Minnesota rejected a proposed criminal complaint from the U.S. Department of Justice against former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who livestreamed the protest from within the church, according to a source familiar with the matter.

“The Attorney General is enraged at the magistrate judge’s decision,” the source said of Bondi.

Lawyers for Levy Armstrong and Allen were not immediately available for comment. Shortly before his arrest on Thursday, Kelly posted on social media, “I am sure they will be coming for me next.”

Lemon has said he was not part of the protest group and was working as a journalist.

Bondi said there would be more arrests over the Sunday protest at Cities Church, St. Paul, where dozens of demonstrators interrupted a service alleging that pastor David Easterwood was an ICE director, saying that role conflicted with Christian values. In a speech in Ohio, Vice President JD Vance said Bondi had told him the “ringleader” of the church protest had been arrested.

ADMINISTRATION USES 1994 LAW

The arrests follow a weekend statement from Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, that the department was investigating potential violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, a 1994 law that bars obstruction of both reproductive health centers and houses of worship. The law has historically been used against demonstrators blocking access to abortion clinics, but President Donald Trump’s administration has curtailed abortion-related cases while emphasizing cases related to religious worship. The administration has also launched broad efforts targeting liberal non-profits and groups seen as opposed to its agenda, raising alarm among civil rights groups and Democratic leaders.

Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer, has said the government’s legal retaliation for the protest represented an abuse of power after the U.S. Department of Justice said it would not investigate ICE agent Jonathan Ross for the fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Renee Good.

“That’s how you continue to move us towards authoritarianism, when you weaponize the investigative powers that you have and the departments that you have,” Levy Armstrong told Reuters on Tuesday.

Easterwood is listed as a pastor at Cities Church on its website and a person of that name appears in public records as the St. Paul ICE acting field office director. Easterwood did not respond to a request for comment.

CHURCH CONSIDERING LEGAL ACTION

In a statement, Pastor Jonathan Parnell said Cities Church was considering legal action against “agitators” who “accosted members of our congregation, frightened children, and created a scene marked by intimidation and threat.”

Videos of the demonstration showed demonstrators chanting “ICE OUT” and “Justice for Renee Good.”

Bondi said the protest inside the Baptist church was part of “attacks on places of worship” that would not be tolerated under Trump.  

In a video posted by Levy Armstrong on Sunday, she stood inside the church and said Easterwood’s role as a pastor was incompatible with his alleged role overseeing ICE agents who had killed Good and shot a Venezuelan immigrant.

“How dare you claim to be a pastor of God, and you are involved in evil in our community?” Levy Armstrong said.

Her social media posts said the “mission” was organized by Black Lives Matter groups in Minnesota and the Racial Justice Network.

Dhillon, the U.S. assistant Attorney General, said Lemon’s role as a journalist did not shield him from being part of what she called a “criminal conspiracy.” 

(Reporting by Rich Matthews, Andrew Hay and Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Donna Bryson, Rod Nickel)