St. Paul church congregant sues ICE protesters, journalists who disrupted January worship service

A St. Paul woman has filed a federal lawsuit against nine people — including activist Nekima Levy Armstrong and journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort — alleging they coordinated a political protest that disrupted a January worship service at Cities Church.

The complaint, filed this week in U.S. District Court in Minnesota by Ann Doucette, stems from a Jan. 18 demonstration inside the church that targeted its pastor over his ties to federal immigration enforcement.

According to Doucette’s lawsuit and prior reporting, activists entered the sanctuary during the Jan. 18 service and began chanting slogans including “ICE out!” and “Hands up, don’t shoot!” during the demonstration, which was organized after the protesters determined one of the pastors, David Easterwood, is the acting director of the ICE field office in St. Paul.

Doucette alleges the protest halted the service. In the complaint, she says demonstrators spread through the pews, raised their voices and confronted clergy while congregants watched. She describes parishioners as frightened and says she experienced anxiety and emotional distress that interfered with her ability to worship.

The case adds a new legal dimension to months of heightened tensions in Minneapolis and St. Paul over immigration enforcement operations and protests. Demonstrations have frequently unfolded outside federal buildings and in public spaces. This lawsuit, however, centers on what happened inside a house of worship — a setting courts typically treat differently than streets or sidewalks.

The lawsuit names nine defendants: Levy Armstrong, Lemon, Fort, military veteran Will Kelly, St. Paul school Board Member Chauntyll Allen, student activist Jerome Richardson, Trahern Crews, and Jamael Lundy.

The civil case follows federal charges against the nine tied to the same protest. All have entered not guilty pleas to allegations of conspiracy against rights of religious freedom at a place of worship, and violating the FACE Act, which typically protects houses of worship.

The filing names Lemon and Fort, both journalists who were present that morning, among the defendants. The complaint alleges portions of the protest were livestreamed and that online promotion and documentation of the event helped facilitate the disruption. It does not sharply distinguish between those who led chants and those who were reporting, instead arguing that planning, promotion and participation were intertwined.