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The administration of President Donald Trump has expanded the number of protesters who participated in church demonstrations to be prosecuted from nine to 39.
The demonstrations were part of a response to President Trump’s deadly immigration surge in the midwestern state of Minnesota, but authorities are trying to frame the protests as an attack on religious freedom.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the expanded charges in a message posted to social media on Friday.
“Today the[Department of Justice]released an indictment charging 30 more people who participated in the attack on the Minnesota Cities church,” Bondi wrote. “At my direction, federal agents have already arrested 25 people, and more will be arrested throughout the day.”
She added a warning to other protesters who try to disrupt religious services.
“You can’t attack a house of worship,” Bondi said. “If you do that, you cannot hide from us. We will find you, arrest you, and prosecute you. This Department of Justice stands with Christians and all Americans of faith.”
Appealing to Christian voters
Since taking office for his second term, Trump has sought to appeal to Christian conservatives by launching initiatives to stamp out anti-Christian bigotry and stop alleged persecution of Christians, both at home and in countries like Nigeria.
But critics have accused the administration of trying to stifle opposition through the prosecution of protesters in Minnesota.
Some of those charged have even denied taking part in the January 18 protests. The defendants, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon and reporter Georgia Fort, claim they attended in their capacity as journalists.
Both men have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have publicly questioned whether their charges are an attempt to restrict press freedom.
A superseding indictment filed Thursday charges 39 defendants with two counts of conspiracy to violate the right to religious freedom and attempting to harm, intimidate, or impede the exercise of religious freedom.
“While inside the church, the defendants collectively oppressed, intimidated, and intimidated church members and pastors by physically occupying the main aisle and rows of pews at the front of the church,” the indictment states.
It also said protesters were “acting in a threatening and threatening manner”, including “screaming and shouting” and blocking exits.
On January 22, a magistrate initially rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to prosecute nine protesters.
However, the department instead sought a grand jury indictment, which was filed on January 29 and made public the next day.
President Trump’s response to immigration surge
The protests, dubbed Operation Pull Up, were designed in response to a violent immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
Much of the enforcement activity was centered in the metropolitan area, including the twin cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
President Trump has repeatedly criticized the welfare fraud scandal that involved government funds for programs such as Medicaid and school lunches for the region’s large Somali-American population.
In December, the Trump administration sent a large number of federal immigration agents to the region, dubbing the effort “Operation Metro Surge.” At its peak, there were as many as 3,000 agents stationed in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
However, the effort was plagued by reports of excessive violence against both detainees and protesters. Videos have gone viral showing police officers smashing the windows of legal observers’ cars, pepper-spraying protesters and punching people.
Officers also forcibly entered homes without judicial warrants, which advocates say is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. Cases of illegal arrest were also reported.
But the turning point came on January 7, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were caught on camera filming the car of 37-year-old mother Renee Good. She died, and her murder sparked nationwide protests.
Less than two weeks later, Operation Pull Up was held at Cities Church in St. Paul.
It was intended as a demonstration against the church’s pastor, David Easterwood, who serves as a local ICE official.
Several demonstrators said they were prepared to fight the government’s charges over the incident, citing their First Amendment right to free speech.
Some said they would continue to be vigilant about the government’s immigration operations even after Trump administration officials announced that Operation Metro Surge would end in mid-February.
“Now is not the time to be Minnesota Nice,” one of the protesters, civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, wrote on social media last week. “The time has come for truth, justice and freedom to prevail.”
