Minnesota Judge orders release of anti-ICE church stormers Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Allen

ST PAUL, MINNESOTA: A judge on Friday, January 23, ordered the release of two civil rights activists, Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Louisa Allen, who were arrested earlier this week in connection with a protest inside a St Paul church.

Levy Armstrong, a civil rights attorney, and Allen, a St Paul school board member, were being held in federal custody in the Sherburne County jail.

US District Judge Laura M Provinzino's decision followed arguments over whether the defendants posed a flight risk or danger to the community.

Judge rules anti-ICE protesters not at flight risk

Judge Provinzino wrote in her order Friday that there was no evidence that either Levy Armstrong or Allen were a flight risk.

The judge noted that they had no prior history of evading law enforcement, and called the prosecutors’ arguments “simply speculative”.

“To the contrary, Defendants have strong ties to Minnesota and did not flee (in fact, they are staying at a hotel in downtown Minneapolis known to federal law enforcement), despite knowing that they were being investigated,” read Provinzino’s order. 

Levy Armstrong and Allen were freed on the afternoon of January 23 after the judge’s decision, their attorneys confirmed.

Levy Armstrong’s legal team had argued that their clients surrendered peacefully and that there was no credible evidence suggesting they would evade further court proceedings.

“There wasn’t any crime committed, much less a federal felony. It’s a political persecution,” Levy Armstrong's attorney Jordan Kushner told Sahan Journal.

“It’s not based on enforcing the law or protecting anyone’s rights and they purposely made a spectacle of her arrest, which shows that this is all for political purposes.”

Alleged St Paul church stormers release statements

“Despite aggressive attempts by federal prosecutors to delay and derail the process, the courts stood firm in defense of constitutional rights, due process, and the rule of law,” the two activists said in a news release issued by Levy Armstrong’s Racial Justice Network.

“We are profoundly grateful that the judicial system upheld justice today, and we demand that this ruling be honored immediately and without further frivolous appeals.”

Levy Armstrong reiterated in her Friday, January 23, statement that she surrendered peacefully to federal authorities.

“I demanded dignity, humanity, and respect, not just for myself, but for every person who has ever been brutalized, silenced, or disappeared by unchecked government power,” Levy Armstrong said in the statement.

“We stood in protest because families are being torn apart, communities terrorized, and constitutional rights trampled. And we will not be intimidated into silence.”

Levy Armstrong and Allen were arrested Thursday, January 22, by Homeland Security Investigations and FBI agents at the direction of US Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Their arrests came days after they organized a protest at Cities Church in St Paul demanding that one of its pastors, David Easterwood, resign because he’s acting director of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in St Paul.