Two activists have been arrested following a protest at a Minnesota church accused of having ties to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent allegedly serving as a pastor. Minnesota Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Thursday that Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Louisa Allen were taken into custody. Both women are reported to have participated in the demonstration against ICE at Cities Church in St. Paul earlier this week. The protest also saw the participation of former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who defended his presence by citing his First Amendment rights.

Bondi stated that Armstrong, who is a prominent figure in organizing the protest, played a significant role in what she described as a “coordinated attack” on the church. Armstrong was observed conversing with Lemon during the demonstration, where she accused the church of protecting an ICE agent, Pastor David Easterwood. “This cannot be tolerated,” she declared, condemning the church for allegedly harboring someone responsible for what she described as ICE agents terrorizing communities. The protest was aimed at the church due to Pastor Easterwood’s dual role as both a clergyman and the acting director of the St. Paul ICE field office.

The protest was organized by several groups, including the Racial Justice Network, Black Lives Matter Minnesota, and Black Lives Matter Twin Cities. Armstrong, who leads the Racial Justice Network, criticized the actions of ICE agents, labeling the recent shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis as “barbaric.” She expressed disbelief that a federal official involved in such actions could also serve as a pastor. It remains unclear whether Easterwood was present at the church during the service, as he did not lead the portion that was streamed live.

Noem also confirmed Armstrong’s arrest, and shared a photograph of her looking downcast as she was escorted into custody wearing handcuffs. ‘Religious freedom is the bedrock of the United States – there is no first amendment right to obstruct someone from practicing their religion,’ Noem wrote on X. The Trump administration has given fewer details about Allen (pictured), but she frequently posts about anti-ICE resources on her social media accounts. She serves as a Saint Paul School Board public official, according to her Facebook page.

Easterwood has made headlines due to his work with ICE in recent months, after he responded to a lawsuit brought by local Minneapolis protester Susan Tincher. Tincher alleged that she was detained for asking an ICE agent to identify herself, which she says led several agents to pull her to the ground and handcuff her face-down in the snow. In a January 5 court filing, Easterwood defended ICE’s tactics in Minnesota such as swapping license plates and spraying protesters with chemical irritants. He wrote that federal agents were experiencing increased threats and aggression and crowd control devices like flash-bang grenades were important to protect against violent attacks. Easterwood testified that he was unaware of agents ‘knowingly targeting or retaliating against peaceful protesters or legal observers with less lethal munitions and/or crowd control devices.’ In response to the church demo, US Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said she is investigating alleged violations ‘by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers.’

‘A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest! It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws!’ she said on social media. Armstrong, who is also an ordained reverend, dismissed the DOJ investigation as a sham and a distraction from federal agents’ actions in Minneapolis-St. Paul. ‘When you think about the federal government unleashing barbaric ICE agents upon our community and all the harm that they have caused, to have someone serving as a pastor who oversees these ICE agents, is almost unfathomable to me,’ she said. ‘If people are more concerned about someone coming to a church on a Sunday and disrupting business as usual than they are about the atrocities that we are experiencing in our community, then they need to check their theology and the need to check their hearts.’