Nekima Levy Armstrong, who organised an anti–immigration enforcement protest that interrupted a church service in Minnesota, was arrested on Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi said, as Vice President JD Vance prepares to visit the state.
Bondi took to X and shared that Nekima Levy Armstrong was taken into custody days after protesters entered Cities Church in St Paul during Sunday services. The church is led by a pastor who also serves as a local official with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation after a group disrupted a church service by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good”, referring to a 37-year-old mother of three who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis earlier this month.
Attorney General Pam Bondi condemned the disruption, stating, “Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP.”
She had sought the pastor connected with ICE to step down, arguing that his simultaneous roles create a “fundamental moral conflict”. At the time, there was no immediate clarification on what specific charge or charges Levy Armstrong might be facing. Officials from the Justice Department have indicated they are considering bringing charges against the protesters under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
Who is Nekima Levy Armstrong?
Nekima Levy Armstrong, 49, a civil rights attorney and well-known longtime activist in the Twin Cities area, has helped organise local protests following several high-profile police killings of Black Americans, including George Floyd, Philando Castile, and Jamar Clark, according to AP. She previously served as president of the Minneapolis branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
She worked as a law professor at the University of St Thomas in Minneapolis from 2003 to 2016. After completing her term as NAACP chapter president and stepping down from academia, she ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Minneapolis in 2017. She has been an active local advocate in multiple protests addressing the killings of Black Americans by police officers and has participated in lawsuits opposing Minneapolis’s plans to eliminate single-family zoning, mentioning that such changes would negatively impact the environment and communities of colour.
Vance's Minnesota visit
JD Vance, a Republican, is scheduled to arrive amid heightened tensions between federal immigration law enforcement and local residents, including state and local officials who have resisted the crackdown that has become a central focus of Department of Homeland Security operations.
His visit comes less than a month after Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer on January 7. Vance described Good’s death as a “tragedy of her own making". Vance also stated that the “far left” has decided the US shouldn’t have a border.
Vance suggested that reducing disorder in Minneapolis would require cooperating with immigration enforcement and recognising the necessity of having national borders.
