Federal authorities arrested activist lawyer Nekima Levy Armstrong and St. Paul School Board member Chauntyll Louisa Allen following a protest that disrupted services at Cities Church, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday.
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Armstrong, a former NAACP Minneapolis chapter president, and Allen, a community leader involved in the Black Lives Matter Twin Cities chapter, face charges for violating federal laws protecting the free exercise of religion. Bondi emphasized on social media that the arrests followed a “coordinated attack on Cities Church” and asserted, “We do not tolerate attacks on places of worship.”
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Authorities cited 18 U.S. Code § 241 and the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem highlighted the seriousness of the offense, while Justice Department civil rights officials are reviewing potential violations.
The protest comes amid heightened tensions in Minnesota following the fatal shooting of U.S. citizen Renee Good by an ICE agent, an incident that federal authorities described as self-defense.
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Faith leaders criticized the disruption, calling worship services sacred spaces. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, remarked that “the precedent of invading a congregation at worship should be unthinkable.”
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