Federal agents began arresting suspects linked to a chaotic Sunday anti-deportation protest at a Minnesota church on Thursday morning, officials announced.
Activists Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Louisa Allen were detained for their alleged role invading and interrupting a service at Cities Church in St. Paul, which protesters claimed was tied to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), federal officials said on X. Both women held leadership positions in Minnesota Black Lives Matter (BLM) groups, and Armstrong was formerly president of the Minneapolis National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), reports and professional profiles show.
Armstrong, a civil rights attorney, faces a conspiracy against rights charge, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who posted an image of her being restrained and escorted by a federal agent. Armstrong played a “key role in orchestrating” the protest, Noem said. Armstrong is also the head of the Minnesota-based Racial Justice Network, which did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Homeland Security Investigators and FBI agents arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong who played a key role in orchestrating the Church Riots in St. Paul, Minnesota.
She is being charged with a federal crime under 18 USC 241.
Religious freedom is the bedrock of the United States -… pic.twitter.com/O9yp4nRio1
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) January 22, 2026
Allen serves on the board of St. Paul Public Schools, including its “Equity Committee” and “Afrocentric School/Program Work Group,” her school profile shows. St. Paul Public Schools declined to comment to the DCNF.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon previously said she believed the Sunday demonstration violated churchgoers’ civil rights based on footage. Protesters arrived at the church service, waited until a leader was speaking to the crowd and began chanting, “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” while congregants began filing out of the door, footage captured by former CNN host Don Lemon showed. The mob remained in the church, shouting, as a pastor asked them to leave.
Minutes ago at my direction, @HSI_HQ and @FBI agents executed an arrest in Minnesota.
So far, we have arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong, who allegedly played a key role in organizing the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
We will share more updates as they…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 22, 2026
“More to come,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday. “WE WILL PROTECT OUR HOUSES OF WORSHIP.”
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