The U.S. Department of Justice charged 30 additional people on Friday in connection with a protest that disrupted a church service in Minnesota last month. The expanded indictment brings the total number of defendants to 39. All are charged with conspiracy against the right of religious worship and violating a federal law prohibiting obstruction of access to houses of worship, Reuters reported.Among those previously charged is former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who was one of nine people initially indicted.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said federal agents have already arrested 25 defendants.
“At my direction, federal agents have already arrested 25 of them, with more to come throughout the day,” Bondi wrote on social media.
“YOU CANNOT ATTACK A HOUSE OF WORSHIP. If you do so, you cannot hide from us — we will find you, arrest you, and prosecute you.” Lemon and several others have pleaded not guilty.
Lemon, who now works as an independent journalist and livestreamed the protest, has argued the charges violate his First Amendment rights.
He and other defendants contend they are being targeted for opposing the Trump administration’s immigration policies. The Jan. 18 protest occurred at Cities Church in St. Paul.
The demonstration drew national attention as the Trump administration deployed federal agents to the region as part of an immigration enforcement operation.
The enforcement effort sparked protests and led to the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens by immigration agents, according to reports. Organizers said they chose the church because they believed a senior pastor was affiliated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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The Justice Department has moved forward with the case despite a federal judge initially declining to approve arrest warrants for several defendants.
The indictment describes the incident as a “coordinated takeover-style attack” on the church.
Video from the scene showed demonstrators shouting anti-ICE slogans during the service and confronting congregants.
Some attendees fled the sanctuary as the disruption unfolded. A Temple University student has turned himself in on federal charges in connection with a protest at a St. Paul, Minnesota church that also involved journalist Don Lemon, authorities said this week.
Jerome Richardson, a 21-year-old senior at the university, was taken into federal custody Monday in Philadelphia in connection with the January 18 demonstration at Cities Church, according to officials and court records. He was later released pending further proceedings.
Richardson is one of several people indicted in the case, which also includes Lemon and others, on charges alleging they conspired to interfere with the free exercise of religion and unlawfully disrupt the church service during an anti-immigration protest.
In public statements made before his arrest, Richardson acknowledged helping Lemon with logistics and connecting him with local contacts ahead of the protest, saying he supported the reporting and demonstration.
“Don was reporting on the situation on the ground during the occupation by DHS and ICE and Border Patrol agents. At that time, I was proud to support his work in exposing the everyday injustices that resulted from the agenda. As a consequence of this support, I’m now being targeted by Trump and the federal administration,” Richardson said in the video, per CBS News.
“This is the price of being unapologetic about humanity and love of Christ,” he continued, noting he supported the protesters, highlighting “the hypocrisy of how Pastor David Easterwood could simultaneously be a pastor at the church and the local leader of ICE operations.”
“What people are experiencing goes against human and civil rights as well as the teachings of Jesus, who indeed flipped over tables,” Richardson said in the video.
Temple University released a statement about Richardson’s charges that said in part:
We understand that the circumstances surrounding this matter are developing. Out of respect for the privacy of the student and the ongoing legal process, the University will not comment on the specifics.
