Judge orders release of two church-storming anti-ICE activists
Two of the anti-ICE protesters who stormed a Saint Paul church on Jan. 18 were ordered to be released from custody, according to a statement from the Racial Justice Network.
Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Allen were arrested for their alleged involvement in an activist protest at the Cities Church after identifying a pastor as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
‘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.’
Levy Armstong is a civil rights attorney and activist, while Allen is a member of the St. Paul School Board. Both were arrested on Thursday along with a male.
The group claimed that they had been peacefully protesting against ICE and excoriated the Justice Dept. for seeking their prosecution.
“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,” their statement reads. “A second judge affirmed the original ruling issued on January 22, confirming that the activists must be released, a decisive rejection of prosecutorial overreach and political intimidation.”
They also posted a video of the arrest of Levy Armstrong.
Critics of the protest have been outraged after a magistrate refused charges against former CNN anchor Don Lemon, despite his being at the protest. He has defended his actions by claiming to have been there as a journalist.
“Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it and talk to the people involved, including the pastor, members of the church, and members of the organization,” Lemon said later. “That’s it. That’s called journalism.”
Further outrage ensued when it was discovered that the wife of the magistrate who refused the charges against Lemon is reportedly an assistant attorney general at Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office.
RELATED: Anti-ICE radical who took credit for the invasion of Minnesota church ARRESTED by feds
“Our fight is far from over,” the statement from the Racial Justice Network continued.
“We will continue to organize, mobilize, and litigate until all charges are dropped against all detainees and meaningful accountability is imposed for this blatant abuse of power,” they added. “All power to the people. Justice will not be silenced.”
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