Protesters disrupted services at Cities Church in St. Paul on Sunday, chanting “ICE OUT” and “Justice for Renee Good.” The St. Paul Pioneer Press quoted Levy Armstrong as saying: “When you consider the federal government unleashing barbaric ICE agents on our community and all the damage they have caused, it is almost unfathomable to me to have someone as a pastor overseeing these ICE agents.”
The church's website lists David Easterwood as one of its pastors. Protesters said this is the same David Easterwood listed as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison against Noem and other federal officials. The lawsuit names Easterwood as a defendant “in his official capacity as Acting Director of the Saint Paul Field Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
Levy Armstrong, who is also a former president of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP, was arrested yesterday morning. Announcing the arrest, Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote: “WE WILL NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS AT PLACES OF WORSHIP.” Bondi claimed that Levy Armstrong “played a key role in organizing the coordinated attack on the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.”
Multiple arrests
Noem said Levy Armstrong “is charged with a federal crime under 18 USC 241,” which prohibits “conspiracy.”[ing] to injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate any person in any state, territory, commonwealth, possession or district in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States.
“Religious freedom is the foundation of the United States – there is no First Amendment right to prevent anyone from practicing his or her religion,” Noem wrote.
St. Paul School board member Chauntyll Allen was also arrested. Attorneys for the Cities Church have issued statements supporting the arrests and saying they are “exploring all legal options to protect the church and prevent further invasions.”
A federal magistrate judge initially ruled that Levy Armstrong and Allen could be released, but they were still being held last night after the government “filed a motion to suspend release for further review, alleging they could pose flight risks,” the Pioneer Press wrote.
