Tensions continue to rise in Minneapolis as federal officers announced Thursday that three individuals were arrested following an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a local church.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel shared updates on the arrests on X.
Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly were taken into custody on suspicion of violating the FACE Act, according to the posts.
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act is a federal law that prohibits the use of force, threats of force or physical obstruction to injure, intimidate or interfere with anyone exercising religious freedom at a place of worship. It also protects those obtaining or providing reproductive health services, including abortion, according to the Department of Justice.
On Sunday, protesters entered St. Paul’s Cities Church and interrupted worship services after learning that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official appeared to be a pastor there, as previously reported by the Deseret News.
Following the protests, the Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into the group that interrupted the Sunday services. The group reportedly chanted “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” referring to Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old woman who was fatally shot during an altercation with ICE agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, as previously reported by the Deseret News.
The church belongs to the Southern Baptist Convention, which lists one of its pastors as David Easterwood, who is also the leader of the local ICE field office, according to The Associated Press.
“Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,” Bondi wrote on X.
Cities Church condemned the protest in a statement on Tuesday, saying the demonstrators had “accosted members of our congregation, frightened children and created a scene marked by intimidation and threat,” The Associated Press reported.
The statement also called on local, state and national leaders to protect church buildings as “places of peace and solace.”
Vance in Minnesota Thursday
The arrests come as Vice President JD Vance arrived in the state on Thursday, where he urged for local and state officials to cooperate with immigration enforcement.
“The No. 1 thing that I learned today is that the best way to facilitate reasonable enforcement of the law, but also lower the chaos in Minneapolis would be for state and local officials to cooperate,” Vance said, CBS News reported