More arrests in the Cities Church protest case

There have been several more arrests in wake of the January protest at Cities Church in St. Paul. 

Cities Church in St. Paul. Photo: Cities Church Facebook page

William Kelly, who is known by the moniker “Da Woke Farmer” on social media, posted a video on Instagram that his wife, Ariel Hauptman, was being taken in a pre-dawn operation coordinated by federal law enforcement. Not long after, Nekima Levy-Armstrong posted to her Facebook that several other individuals were also arrested in connection to the protest. 

Both Kelly and Levy-Armstrong were arrested last month for protesting inside the church. The protest was due to the connection of one of the church’s pastors, David Easterwood, holding a senior leadership position with the local field office of ICE. 

There is a planned rally in support of those arrested today at 1:30 p.m. outside of the federal courthouse in St. Paul, which is where the group will make their initial court appearances. 

It is believed that up to eight people were ensnared in today’s law enforcement actions. That’s in addition to the nine previous arrests, including the arrest of Georgia Fort, an independent journalist covering the January protest. Fort is the president of the Center for Broadcast Journalism, parent organization of Power 104.7. Journalist Don Lemon and Jerome Richardson, who assisted Lemon with reporting logistics, were also arrested. According to Levy-Armstrong, one additional journalist was a part of today’s arrest. 

Those previously arrested have been charged with violation of the FACE Act, a federal law prohibiting the use of force, threats, or physical obstruction to injure, intimidate, or interfere with anyone obtaining or providing reproductive health services, or exercising religious freedom at a place of worship. All the protesters affirm they were peaceful in their actions inside of Cities Church and the journalists affirm they were there performing their duties as working members of the press. All say their actions are protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution.

It has been pointed out by multiple individuals that all arrests associated with this case have occurred on a Friday. Many theorize that is due to the hope of federal authorities that those arrested will have to spend the weekend in custody because of courts not being in session on Saturday nor Sunday. In fact, Levy-Armstrong and Chauntyll Allen were detained two extra days even though the judge in their initial hearing ordered them released without bail. DOJ lawyers appealed that decision, keeping the two in custody until the appeal was heard. That appeal was denied.