MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A woman who led an anti-immigration protest that disrupted a church service in Minnesota has been arrested, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday, just as Vice President JD Vance is set to visit the state.
Bondi announced the arrest of Nekima Levy Armstrong in a post X days after protesters, during Sunday service, entered the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official serves as pastor. Bondi later posted on X that a second person had been arrested.
The Justice Department quickly opened a civil rights investigation after the group disrupted services chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” referring to the 37-year-old mother who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis earlier this month. Bondi
“Hear it loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,” the attorney general wrote on X.
Levy Armstrong, a civil rights attorney and prominent local activist, called on the ICE-affiliated pastor to resign, saying his dual role represented a “fundamental moral conflict.”
“You cannot lead a congregation while leading an agency whose actions have cost lives and caused fear in our communities,” she said Tuesday. “When officials protect armed agents, repeatedly deny a meaningful investigation into crimes like Renée Good’s, and signal that they can go after peaceful protesters and journalists, that’s not justice — it’s intimidation.”
Prominent leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention have come to the church’s defense, arguing that compassion for migrant families affected by the crackdown cannot justify violating a sacred space during worship.
Vance, speaking in Toledo ahead of his visit to Minnesota, said the church protesters scared “little kids.”
“Those people will be sent to prison as long as we have the power to do so. We will do everything we can to enforce the law,” he said.
The FACE Act
A longtime activist in the Twin Cities metro area, Levy Armstrong helped lead local protests after the high-profile police killings of black Americans, including George Floyd, Philando Castile and Jamar Clark. She is a former president of the Minneapolis branch of the NAACP.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she posted a photo on X of Levy Armstrong with his arms behind his back next to a person wearing a badge. Noem said he faced a charge under a statute that prohibits threatening or intimidating someone exercising a right.
It was not immediately clear what charge Chauntyll Louisa Allen, the second person who told Bondi she had been arrested, would face. Justice Department officials have said in recent days that they are considering charging the protesters under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
It is unclear who Allen’s attorney is. A message to her was not immediately returned.
The FACE Act prohibits physically obstructing or using the threat of force to intimidate or interfere with a person seeking reproductive health services or seeking to attend a service in a place of worship.
The Trump administration criticized the Biden administration for using the FACE Act to prosecute people for blocking access to abortion clinics and reproductive health centers, calling the cases an example of “weaponizing” law enforcement.
The Justice Department’s swift investigation into the church disturbance stands in contrast to its decision not to open a civil rights investigation into the killing of Good by an ICE officer. Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche said last week that “there is no basis” at this time for a civil rights investigation into her death.
Administration officials said the officer acted in self-defense and that the Honda driver was engaging in an “act of domestic terrorism” when she approached him. But the decision not to investigate the department’s Civil Rights Division marked a sharp departure from past administrations, which have moved quickly to investigate shootings of civilians by law enforcement officers.
The Justice Department has opened a separate investigation into whether Minnesota officials hindered or obstructed federal immigration enforcement through their public statements. Prosecutors this week sent subpoenas to the offices of Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Kaohly Her and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties, according to a person familiar with the matter.
VP visiting Minnesota
Vance, a Republican, is set to arrive amid tense interactions between federal immigration enforcement and residents, including state and local elected officials who have opposed the crackdown that has become a major focus of Department of Homeland Security scrutiny.
His visit comes less than a month after Renee Good was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Jan. 7. Vance called Good’s death a “self-made tragedy.”
Vance said the “extreme left” has decided the US should not have a border.
“If you want to push back on the chaos in Minneapolis, stop fighting immigration enforcement and accept that we have to have a border in this country. It’s not that hard,” Vance said.
A federal appeals court this week stayed a ruling barring federal officers from using tear gas or pepper spray against peaceful protesters in Minnesota.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has been persuaded to freeze a judge’s ruling that bans retaliation against the public in Minnesota, including detaining people who follow agents in cars. The government is appealing.
After the court hearing, US Border Patrol official Greg Bovino, who has led the administration’s immigration campaign in major cities, was seen on video repeatedly warning protesters on a snowy street in Minneapolis, “The gas is coming!” before throwing a green smoke canister into the crowd.
Bovino on ‘current climate’
Bovino, speaking during a press conference Thursday, told reporters that undocumented people who are charged with crimes “walk the streets with less than 24 hours.”
Bovino called for better cooperation from state and local officials in Minnesota and blamed the “influx of anarchists” for contributing to the state’s current anti-ICE climate.
“How much better can we do what we’re doing and how much better can this work be for you … for the taxpayer?” Bovino asked. “The current climate facing law enforcement … is not very favorable right now in Minneapolis.”
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Durkin Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press reporter Chris Megerian in Washington contributed.