Three people were arrested on Thursday in connection with a controversial protest at a Minnesota church on Sunday, Pam Bondi posted on social media.
The three people, whom the US attorney general identified as Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly, were taken into custody on Thursday. Charging papers were not immediately available and the justice department did not immediately return a request for comment.
“Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,” Bondi said in a post on X.
The White House and Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, celebrated Armstrong’s arrest on social media and posted a picture of her being detained. Armstrong was being charged under a statute that makes it a crime to conspire to block someone from exercising their civil rights.
The disruption at the Cities church in St Paul took place after demonstrators alleged that one of the pastors, David Easterwood, was the acting field director of the St Paul Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office. The disturbance at a religious institution has caused widespread outrage among conservatives and the Trump administration has pledged to bring charges.
Also present at the protest was Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor, who livestreamed the disruption.
“Our church had gathered for worship, which we do every Sunday. We asked them to leave and they have not,” Jonathan Parnell, the church’s pastor said in an interview with Lemon.
Donald Trump criticized Lemon on Tuesday, calling him a “loser, lightweight”.
“I saw him the way he walked in that church, it was terrible,” Trump said during the White House press briefing. “I have such respect for that pastor. He was so calm, he was so nice. He was just accosted. What they did in that church was horrible.”
