Two More Arrests in St. Paul Church Protest: US Attorney General Pam Bondi Announces Indictments
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (February 2, 2026) -- In a significant development, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed two additional arrests in the protest at a Minnesota church against the immigration crackdown, bringing the total to nine. The grand jury indictment, unsealed on Friday, named all nine individuals, including independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, who were among those arrested on the same day.
The protest, held at the Cities Church in St. Paul on January 18, was met with strong opposition from the Trump administration. The indictment charges all nine with federal civil rights violations, including conspiracy and interference with First Amendment rights during the peaceful demonstration. Notably, a pastor at the church also serves as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official, adding a layer of complexity to the situation.
Bondi's social media post on Monday identified the latest arrestees as Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson, providing no further details. Don Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023, has denied any affiliation with the group that disrupted the church service. He described himself as an independent journalist covering the protest.
The indictment alleges that Jerome Deangelo Richardson traveled with Don Lemon to the church while streaming and instructed Lemon to catch up with the others. Additionally, Ian Davis Austin was accused of standing in the aisles and berating a pastor with questions about Christian nationalism. Online jail records confirm Austin's arrest on Friday, while the exact timing of Richardson's arrest remains unclear.
The Justice Department's investigation was sparked by the group's disruptive actions, which included chanting 'ICE out' and 'Justice for Renee Good,' a reference to the tragic shooting of a 37-year-old mother of three by an ICE officer in Minneapolis. The Cities Church, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, has one of its pastors, David Easterwood, leading the ICE's St. Paul field office, further intensifying the controversy.
