The FBI said they arrested three people on Thursday who it said were involved in a protest that disrupted a Minneapolis church service. Attorney General Pam Bondi said at least one played “a key role” in the demonstration.
Bondi posted on X, stating the FBI arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly in connection with the protest. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said prosecutors charged all three with conspiracy to deprive rights.
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Prosecutors charged Kelly with an additional charge for allegedly violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The act makes it a crime to use force or threats to interfere with anyone seeking or providing reproductive health services or to intimidate people at places of religious worship.
In her post, Bondi called the protest a “coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.”
Minutes ago at my direction, @HSI_HQ and @FBI agents executed an arrest in Minnesota.
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 22, 2026
So far, we have arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong, who allegedly played a key role in organizing the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
We will share more updates as they…
A federal magistrate judge refused the Department of Justice’s request to charge former CNN host Don Lemon, according to CNN. Lemon attended and filmed the protest as an independent journalist.
A person familiar with the judge’s refusal told CNN that Bondi was “enraged at the magistrate judge’s decision.” They also told the news group that the attorney general was in Minnesota, meeting with federal prosecutors.
Why did protesters target the church?
Protesters said they targeted the church for the pastor’s alleged job with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Straight Arrow News previously reported. Protest organizers said that pastor David Easterwood is an ICE official named in a class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit, which also names Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, accuses them of racial profiling, unlawful seizure and arrests of people throughout Minnesota. The American Civil Liberties Union and several law firms filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court.
The church, Cities Church, released a statement on Tuesday saying, “a group of agitators jarringly disrupted our worship gathering.” The term “agitator” has been frequently used by those opposed to the protest, including many people in the Trump administration.
“They accosted members of our congregation, frightened children, and created a scene marked by intimidation and threat,” the church wrote. “Invading a church service to disrupt the worship of Jesus — or any other act of worship — is protected by neither the Christian Scriptures nor the laws of this nation.”
The church called on authorities to protect its right to worship and is considering legal action.
What happened during the protest?
Video of the protest shows that several congregants remained seated, joined the chants, recorded the protest or left the church. Others were shown encouraging the protesters to leave.
St. Paul Police officers arrived at the church at about 10:40 a.m. after receiving calls that 30 to 40 protesters had interrupted church services, Public Information Officer Nikki Muehlhausen told SAN. However, video of the protest shows the officers did not appear to disperse the group.
“When officers arrived on scene, the group had moved outside the church and began to walk down the alley,” Meuhlhausen said in an email to SAN. “Saint Paul Police continued to monitor the protest.”
She added that the incident is the subject of an “active and ongoing disorderly conduct investigation.”
