(Headline USA) A woman who invaded a Minnesota church on Sunday has been arrested, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday.
Bondi announced the arrest of Nekima Levy Armstrong in a post on X days after protesters during Sunday service disrupted the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a local official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement serves as a pastor.
The Justice Department quickly opened a civil rights investigation after the group interrupted services by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” referring to the 37-year-old mother of three who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis earlier this month after striking him with her vehicle.
“Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,” the attorney general wrote on X.
Levy Armstrong, a civil rights attorney and prominent local activist, had called for the pastor affiliated with ICE to resign, saying his dual role poses a “fundamental moral conflict.”
However, rominent leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention have come to the church’s defense, arguing that the protestors’ political views cannot justify violating a sacred space during worship.
A longtime activist in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, Levy Armstrong is a former president of the NAACP’s Minneapolis branch.
It was not immediately clear what charge or charges Levy Armstrong faces. Justice Department officials have said in recent days they were considering charging the protesters under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
The FACE Act 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.
The Justice Department has separately opened an investigation into whether Minnesota officials impeded or obstructed federal immigration enforcement though their public statements. Prosecutors this week sent subpoenas to the offices of Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
