AG Pam Bondi Announces Two New Arrests Tied to the Coordinated Attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota
By The Blog Source
Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed Monday that federal officials have made two new arrests linked to the January invasion of a Minnesota church service by anti-ICE protestors, warning that the Trump administration wants to pursue every individual involved in the disruption.
Bondi said on X, "If you riot in a place of worship, we WILL find you," naming Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson as the most recent arrestees.
Their arrests raise the total number charged in connection with the Jan. 18 incident at Cities Church in St. Paul to nine.
The case has gained national attention in part because one of the defendants is former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who was hauled into jail Friday in Los Angeles while covering the Grammy Awards.
Lemon allegedly deliberately joined an organized crowd that rushed the sanctuary during Sunday church, yelling "ICE out" and attacking members of the congregation and clergy, according to the prosecution. Despite the court's eventual order to release Lemon without bail or travel restrictions, the underlying accusations persist.
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A federal indictment released last week charges all nine defendants with conspiracy against rights and with interfering with the free practice of religious worship by seeking to “injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate” individuals within the church.
Several of the defendants, including William Scott Kelly, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and Nekima Valdez Levy-Armstrong, are local Black Lives Matter organizers who assembled outside the church before pushing their way inside with Lemon and others, according to the charging complaint.
Prior to entering the church, Lemon recorded himself outlining what he dubbed “reconnaissance” with activists and mentioned a planned “Operation Pull-Up,” suggesting the group was ready to carry out a surprise operation. Lemon later did an on-camera interview inside the church with another pastor, Jonathan Parnell, who called the protest “shameful.”
After the event, Lemon propagated unverified assertions about Easterwood’s purported ICE ties on the left-leaning platform Bluesky. Law enforcement officials claimed Homeland Security Investigations and FBI officers arrested Lemon at the Beverly Hilton after a grand jury returned indictments Thursday, following earlier reticence by judges to approve warrants. Lemon and his legal team have aggressively pushed back, presenting the episode as protected newsgathering.
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High-profile Democrat attorney Abbe Lowell, who has defended Hunter Biden and New York Attorney General Letitia James, contended that Lemon was working as a journalist and not as an activist. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable,” Lowell said, adding that his client will fight the allegations.
The Justice Department has hinted the matter may not stop there. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Harmeet Dhillon, has stated Lemon might also face prosecution under the Enforcement Act of 1871—generally known as the Ku Klux Klan Act—as well as the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. Both statutes can be used to prosecute conspiracies that interfere with civil rights and religious worship.
“Whenever anyone conspires to violate the protected civil rights of American citizens,” Dhillon said in a recent interview, “the Klan Act can be used to bring a conspiracy charge.”
For the Trump administration, the message from Bondi and the Justice Department has been unambiguous. Federal law will enforce political activism's prohibition on mob intimidation inside a church.
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