Attorney General Pam Bondi on Monday said federal agents have arrested two more individuals in connection with the storming of a church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Bondi identified the suspects as Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson and said the arrests stem from a “coordinated attack on Cities Church” on Jan. 18. A total of nine individuals have now been charged in connection with the protest at the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, where an ICE official serves as a pastor.
The other individuals involved have been charged with conspiring to violate someone’s constitutional rights and with violations of the FACE Act, the 1994 law that prohibits the use of force, intimidation, or obstruction to deliberately “injure, intimidate, or interfere” with an individual’s ability to exercise their right to religious freedom at a place of worship. The two additional individuals are expected to face the same charges.
“If you riot in a place of worship, we WILL find you,” Bondi said on X.
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The group of anti-ICE protesters in question were seen on video chanting “ICE out” during a church service in St. Paul last month and interrupting the service. The Justice Department has announced charges against nine individuals connected to the protest.
FACE Act violations carry penalties ranging from fines to prison time, depending on the severity of the violation alleged and other contributing factors.
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The new arrests come after the Justice Department on Friday also arrested former CNN anchor Don Lemon and independent journalist Georgia Fort on alleged FACE Act violations for their participation in the same protest, according to copies of their indictments.
A federal magistrate judge in Minnesota had previously rejected the Justice Department’s initial attempt to bring criminal charges against Lemon in connection with the Jan. 18 protest, describing the administration’s case against Lemon as “frivolous.”
Both Lemon and Fort claimed they had been attending the demonstration in a reporting capacity, and not as protesters.
Their arrests sparked fresh concerns over First Amendment protections for journalists, including from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her.
“The arrest today of journalists for covering a protest is deeply chilling,” Her said in a statement Friday. “We need to all be hyper vigilant and call out the way this administration has eroded our First Amendment and other Constitutional rights — because if we let this go unanswered, it won’t stop here.”
