Is it time for the Left in Minneapolis to FACE the music? Pam Bondi believes so. The Attorney General announced the arrest of two ringleaders in the Sunday invasion of a Minneapolis church by anti-ICE demonstrators, with more likely to follow:
Minutes ago at my direction, @HSI_HQ and @FBI agents executed an arrest in Minnesota.
So far, we have arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong, who allegedly played a key role in organizing the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
We will share more updates as they…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 22, 2026
UPDATE: A second arrest has been made at my direction. Chauntyll Louisa Allen has been taken into custody.
More to come.
WE WILL PROTECT OUR HOUSES OF WORSHIP 🙏🏻
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 22, 2026
Considering the evidence on hand, the DoJ took its time. The group published the evidence of its own violations of the FACE Act on social media, as well as evidence of violating other federal statutes, on Sunday. Presumably, Bondi had a grand jury review the X/Twitter streams and let them reach their own conclusions before seeking arrest warrants.
The evidence was so compelling that CNN’s Erin Burnett tried to pretend it didn’t matter while interviewing Armstrong yesterday. Guy Benson noticed, and scoffed:
You’re not going to dispute that? It’s on video! https://t.co/XO4lxHI14z
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) January 22, 2026
The grand jury probably wonders about that, too. CBS News offers some information on the likely charges:
No immigration raids during church services have been reported, but some churches have posted notices on their doors saying no federal immigration officers are allowed inside. Others have reported a drop in attendance, particularly during enforcement surges.
Earlier this week, Justice Department Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said her agency is investigating federal civil rights violations “by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers.”
The federal case against Sunday’s protesters would likely focus on the application of the FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) Act, which was signed into law in 1994 and, among other things, prohibits using force or threats, or physically obstructing people to stop them from exercising their First Amendment right to religious freedom, including at churches. The act was also propped up to make the same actions illegal if attempting to intimidate or interfere with anyone seeking to obtain an abortion.
Charges will also likely involve conspiracy to commit these crimes … and that’s where Don Lemon may need to lawyer up, and fast. Ever since the incident, Lemon has insisted that he was only there as a journalist. As David pointed out on Monday, though, Lemon’s going to have a tough time explaining some of his other public statements in that defense:
💥: #NEW – INTENT: The opening to Don Lemon’s insane livestream is an admission of foreknowledge that the group he was in contact with was going to storm a church, based on his prior communications with its leader.
Nekima Armstrong’s FB post below thanking Don lemon and others… pic.twitter.com/WjC3BbCaDU
— Brandon Tatum (@TheOfficerTatum) January 19, 2026
Don Lemon flew to Minneapolis to live-stream this protest, having coordinated with people who he had every reason intended to break federal law. He participated, at least to some extent, by badgering and lecturing the pastor. One could argue either side about whether he was a journalist or a participant, and I am not sure what side I would come down on yet, but at the very least this would be equivalent to a journalist being informed of and invited to broadcast a federal crime. That seems, on its face, to be prosecutable, as he is acting as a propagandist for the criminals.
Let’s just say that Lemon was stupid enough to insert himself into this conspiracy. Will his attorneys be smart enough to extricate him from it, if the grand jury indicts Lemon as well? Perhaps. But it will cost Lemon a lot of money to get out of the trap he sprung on himself.
As of this writing, no one has heard from Lemon yet after Bondi’s initial post about the arrests. That in itself is a win. We’ll update as developments warrant.
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