Trumped-Up Charges: Nekima Levy Armstrong Prosecuted for Anti-ICE Protest
- AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I'm Amy Goodman, as we continue to look at the deadly federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
- We're joined now by civil rights attorney,minister and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong.
- NEKIMA LEVY ARMSTRONG: David Easterwood is a pastor here.
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, as we continue to look at the deadly federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
We’re joined now by civil rights attorney,minister and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong. On Friday, she was released from jail, a day after she and at least two others were arrested for participating in an anti-ICE demonstration at Cities Church in St. Paul, where one of the pastors also leads a local ICE field office. This is a clip from that protest.
JONATHAN PARNELL: Shame on you! Shame on you!
NEKIMA LEVY ARMSTRONG: David Easterwood is a pastor here. He is also the director of the field office for ICE in St. Paul. So, someone who claims to worship God, teaching people in this church about God, is out there overseeing ICE agents.
AMY GOODMAN: Nekima Levy Armstrong was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations, HSI, and FBI agents at the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bondi announced Armstrong’s arrest on social media, referring to the protest as a “coordinated attack” on a house of worship. The White House then posted an AI-altered image of Nekima’s arrest, making it appear she was crying, along with the text, “ARRESTED: FAR-LEFT AGITATOR NEKIMA LEVY ARMSTRONG FOR ORCHESTRATING CHURCH RIOTS IN MINNESOTA.” The unaltered image clearly shows she was not crying.
Nekima, welcome back to democracy Now! There’s so much to talk about since you were released from jail, not to mention what they have done to your image, not to mention what happened on Saturday – the killing of a second protester, Alex Pretti. Your response to all that has transpired? In a moment, we’re going to go to the mass protest of tens of thousands of Minnesotans on Friday.