Federal officials announced Monday the arrests of two more activists accused of storming a Minnesota church to protest against immigration enforcement.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson were taken into custody after they were linked to the Jan. 18 takeover at Cities Church in St. Paul.
“If you riot in a place of worship, we will find you,” Ms. Bondi posted on X.
Ms. Bondi said all nine people charged in the “coordinated attack” are accused of conspiracy against rights and of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which bars impeding a person’s ability to enter abortion clinics or places of worship.
Protesters targeted the Cities Church because they said one of its pastors works with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Washington Times has reached out to the Cities Church for comment.
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Those arrested include Nekima Levy Armstrong, the alleged ringleader of activist group Racial Justice Network; William Kelly, who filmed himself harassing parishioners inside the church; and former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who livestreamed the agitators as an independent journalist.
“As a result of the defendants’ conduct, the pastor and congregation were forced to terminate the Church’s worship service, congregants fled the Church building out of fear for their safety, other congregants took steps to implement an emergency plan, and young children were left to wonder, as one child put it, if their parents were going to die,” the federal charging documents said.
The filing said Ms. Armstrong and another defendant organized what they called “Operation Pullup” and promoted the protest on social media.
About two dozen activists, including Mr. Lemon, met at a grocery store parking lot to discuss how the takeover was to be carried out on the day of the incident, court documents said.
The documents said Ms. Armstrong ordered a first wave of activists to enter the church and act as worshippers, while a second wave would come in and disrupt the service shortly afterward.
When the pastor began his sermon, Ms. Armstrong barged into the church with other activists and started shouting that the Cities Church was harboring a “director of ICE,” the documents say.
Activists chanted protest slogans, such as “ICE out,” and walked around the sanctuary badgering parishioners about their support for the church.
Mr. Lemon and two other defendants are accused of surrounding the pastor to question him about the claims of an ICE employee working for the church. The pastor told the agitators to leave, which they ignored.
The court documents say some activists blocked cars in the parking lot or partially blocked the pathway to a child care area where parishioners had put their kids.
“It may have started with people having their due process rights violated on the streets, violently violated on the streets. But now they’re trying to silence journalists. And I will not be silenced,” Mr. Lemon said on his show in response to his arrest.
Protests spread throughout the Twin Cities area last month after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good as she drove her car toward the agent on Jan. 7.
Videos of the incident showed Good using her vehicle to partially block a street in which immigration officers were conducting a raid.
ICE agents ordered her out of the car, but Good instead accelerated and appeared to hit an ICE agent with her vehicle, the video shows. The agent responded by firing three shots and mortally wounding Good.
Weeks later, protester Alex Pretti was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents after he appeared to obstruct another ICE sweep.
Border Patrol agents said they noticed Mr. Pretti had a gun while he was resisting arrest and shot him seconds later.
The two agents involved in the shooting are under investigation.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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