Feds arrest activists involved in St. Paul church disruption

MINNEAPOLIS — FBI and Homeland Security agents arrested Minneapolis civil rights activist Nekima Levy Armstrong and St. Paul school board member Chauntyll Allen in connection with the disruption of a church service on Jan. 18.

A third arrest of a protester involved was announced later on Jan. 22.

Attorney General Pam Bondi in a post on X said Armstrong played a “key role in organizing” the interruption at Cities Church in St. Paul on Jan. 18 by activists who determined one of the pastors is the acting director of the local ICE field office. FBI Director Kash Patel said Armstrong and Allen’s arrests are tied to a violation of the federal FACE Act.

“Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,” Bondi said.

The Minnesota Star Tribune has reached out to Levy Armstrong and Allen, who joined the St. Paul school board in 2020, for comment. Both were arrested at the Aloft Hotel in downtown Minneapolis where they were staying, according to a source.

Patel announced the arrest of protester William Kelly just after noon. He can be heard yelling in the church during the protests, court records indicate.

The Trump administration swiftly promised to investigate the church disruption after cellphone video showed the activists entering the church on Jan. 18 chanting “Justice for Renee Good” after they determined one of the congregation’s pastors, David Easterwood, who was not leading the service, helmed the ICE field office.

The Rev. Jonathan Parnell, who was leading the service, was confronted by the group and can be heard telling the activists “shame on you.”

According to court records, a livestream video leading up to the church protest led law enforcement to identify Levy Armstrong and Allen as key figures in the demonstration. Levy Armstrong referred to the effort as “Operation Pullup” according to a federal affidavit detailing the allegations obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune.

The duo “provided instructions to the group, led chants, and conducted interviews as apparent leaders of the organization,” the affidavit said.

A federal magistrate judge rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to bring charges against former CNN host Don Lemon, who said he was there as a journalist covering the event, according to Levy Armstrong’s attorney.

In a statement posted on social media app Bluesky Lemon’s attorney said the reported decision “confirm the nature of Don’s First Amendment protected work.”

“It was no different than what he has done for more than 30 years, reporting and covering newsworthy events on the ground and engaging in constitutionally protected activity as a journalist,” the statement said. “Should the Department of Justice continue with a stunning and troubling effort to silence and punish a journalist for doing his job, Don will call out their latest attack on the rule of law and fight any charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”

Levy Armstrong told the Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan. 21 that she became aware of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s comments about arresting activists through her comments made Tuesday on Newsmax.

“She said within hours there would be arrests,” Levy Armstrong said. “I don’t know all the people who participated in the process. For those that I’m aware of, I reached out to check in with them and give them that heads-up. And no one has contacted me to say that they have been arrested,” she said.

Erica Wacker, a spokesperson for St. Paul Public Schools, said the district is aware of Allen’s arrest and is “following all applicable policies and procedures.” She declined to comment further, stating the district does not comment on pending legal cases.

Levy Armstrong said proving activists violated the FACE Act “will be very difficult to prove because we are people of faith calling out other people of the same faith for an injustice.”

Added Jordan Kushner, Levy Armstrong’s attorney: “This is not a legitimate prosecution. This is a political persecution.”

According to the Justice Department, the federal FACE Act “prohibits the use or threat of force and physical obstruction that injures, intimidates, or interferes with a person seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services or to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.”

Kushner further claimed federal agents tackled someone who was staying with Armstrong overnight Jan. 22 and took them to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building before realizing they had the wrong person.

The attorneys for Cities Church released a statement Jan. 22 supporting the federal actions. “The First Amendment does not allow premeditated plots or coordinated actions to violate the sanctity of a sanctuary, disrupt worship, and intimidate small children,” said Renee Carlson, general counsel for True North Legal.

Leaders at Cities Church previously told the Star Tribune they are contemplating legal action. In its statement, the church referred to the matter as “shameful, unlawful and will not be tolerated.”

Church members in attendance during the service described feeling fearful over the uncertainty about what was happening, according to the affidavit.

“(Victim) thought to himself that this is what it would feel like to be in a mass shooting,” the affidavit said about one unnamed church attendee, who described the demonstration as “surreal.”

Levy Armstrong said Sunday’s act was a nonviolent protest “raising valid and truthful concerns about their conduct and the harm that they’re doing.” She said the protest “started out as a dialogue with me and the pastor, but the moment I mentioned Dave Easterwood, he tried to shut me down and say, ‘Shame.’”

“You should be ashamed not telling your congregation that this man is a director for ICE,” she said.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Facebook called the arrests a “gross abuse of power.”

“The federal government is picking and choosing who to investigate — going after protesters and not the person who shot and killed one of our neighbors. I am calling for Nekima to be released immediately,” he said.

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