A civil rights attorney and at least two other people have been arrested after disrupting a Minnesota church service to protest ICE. Trump administration officials confirmed the arrests on Thursday. Meanwhile, a judge declined to approve related charges against Don Lemon. On Sunday, protesters entered the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a local official with ICE serves as a pastor. This comes after Trump officials and even Nicki Minaj called for the journalist to be arrested and charged over his media coverage of the protest.
RELATED: Whew! Nicki Minaj Seemingly Hints At Turning Up The Heat After Don Lemon Accused Her Of Using Slur Against Him
Judge Rejects Charges Against Don Lemon
A judge rejected federal prosecutors’ bid to charge Don Lemon related to the church protest, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation publicly.
Don Lemon was among those who entered the church. He has said he is not affiliated with the protest organizers. He was there as a journalist covering the protest.
“Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism which was to report on it and talk to the people involved, including the pastor, members of the church, and members of the organization,” Lemon said in a video posted on social media. “That’s it. That’s called journalism.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what the Justice Department would do after the judge’s decision. Authorities could return to a magistrate judge to again seek a criminal complaint or an indictment against Lemon before a grand jury. CNN, which fired Lemon in 2023, first reported the ruling.
Details On Protesters Arrested In Connection To Minnesota Church Disruption
New developments in the case unfolded as Vice President JD Vance arrived in Minnesota. The Justice Department quickly opened a civil rights investigation after the group interrupted services by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good.” An ICE officer fatally shot the 37-year-old mother of three in Minneapolis earlier this month.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrest of Nekima Levy Armstrong in a post on X.
“Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,” the attorney general wrote on X.
Levy Armstrong is a longtime activist in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. She is a former president of the NAACP’s Minneapolis branch. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted a photo on X of Levy Armstrong with her arms behind her back next to a person wearing a badge. Noem said she faces a charge under a statute that bars threatening or intimidating someone exercising a right.
Homeland Security Investigators and FBI agents arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong who played a key role in orchestrating the Church Riots in St. Paul, Minnesota.
She is being charged with a federal crime under 18 USC 241.
Religious freedom is the bedrock of the United States -… pic.twitter.com/O9yp4nRio1
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) January 22, 2026
Bondi later posted on X that a second person had been arrested, Chauntyll Louisa Allen. FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that Allen is charged under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The law prohibits physically obstructing or using the threat of force to intimidate or interfere with a person seeking reproductive health services or seeking to participate in a service at a house of worship.
Allen is a member of the board of education in Saint Paul Public Schools, which said it was aware of her arrest but will not comment on pending legal matters. Allen and Levy Armstrong are part of a community of Black Minnesota activists who have protested the deaths of African Americans at the hands of police.
Patel said a third person, William Kelly, was in custody. Kelly defended the protest during a news conference Tuesday. He criticized the church for its association with a pastor who works for ICE.
Every last individual who allegedly targets our brave federal law enforcement, targets places of worship, or in any way pays for or facilitates such illegal activity will be pursued.
And will be caught. pic.twitter.com/SgHd8oklZe
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) January 22, 2026
Church Attorney Reacts To The Arrest
Cities Church belongs to the Southern Baptist Convention and lists one of its pastors as David Easterwood. David leads the local ICE field office. Many Baptist churches have pastors who also work other jobs. Attorneys representing the church hailed the arrests.
“The U.S. Department of Justice acted decisively by arresting those who coordinated and carried out the terrible crime,” said Doug Wardlow, director of litigation for True North Legal. The company calls itself a public interest civil rights firm, in a statement.
Prominent leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention have come to the church’s defense. Leaders argue that compassion for migrant families doesn’t justify violating a sacred space during worship.
RELATED: ICE Agents Reportedly Detain 5-Year-Old Boy In Minnesota And Use Him To “Bait” Father Into Capture
Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer, Giovanna Dell’orto, Chris Megerian, Corey Williams, and Jack Dura contributed to this report.
