Two more individuals have been arrested in connection with the church-storming incident that occurred at Cities Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in January.
A mob of roughly 30 to 40 left-leaning agitators, joined by former CNN anchor Don Lemon, interrupted a Sunday service at the Christian church on January 18. The activists, who assembled to protest against federal immigration enforcement activities, attempted to drown out the worshipping Christians and targeted the church because they claimed one of its pastors was involved with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
‘If you riot in a place of worship, we WILL find you.’
The groups behind the demonstration included Racial Justice Network, Black Lives Matter Minnesota, and BLM Twin Cities.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the first arrests on January 22. Homeland Security Investigation and FBI agents arrested Racial Justice Network founder Nekima Levy Armstrong. Bondi claimed Armstrong played “a key role in organizing the coordinated attack.” Chauntyll Louisa Allen, who leads BLM Twin Cities, was also apprehended the same day.
On Friday, Bondi revealed that federal authorities had arrested Lemon, independent journalist Georgia Fort, and two others who allegedly participated in the attack, including Trahern Jeen Crews and Jamael Lydell Lundy.
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Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Bondi announced two more arrests on Monday.
“If you riot in a place of worship, we WILL find you,” Bondi wrote in a post on X. “We have made two more arrests in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota: Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson.”
The indictment accused Austin of standing “with other agitators in and around the main aisles in the church to intimidate the church members and obstruct and interfere with their freedom of movement,” the Daily Signal reported. He was also accused of approaching the pastor “in a menacing manner” and berating him with questions.
Sarah Gad, Austin’s attorney, did not respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.
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Don Lemon. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images
Richardson is a 21-year-old Temple University student who claimed he assisted Lemon during his visit to Minnesota by “helping with logistics and connecting him with local contacts to report on ICE-led Minnesota Operation Surge.”
“As a consequence of this support, I am now being targeted by the Trump administration,” he wrote in a post on social media.
He asked for supporters to donate to his legal defense on GoFundMe, requesting $16,000. He has already raised nearly $13,000 as of Monday afternoon. According to his donation page, Richardson turned himself in to authorities at the federal courthouse in Philadelphia on Monday.
Bondi did not reveal the charges against Austin and Richardson; however, the other individuals who were previously arrested are accused of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinics Entrances Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. Penalties for violating these acts can include fines and prison time.
Nine individuals have been charged in connection with the church invasion.
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