Excessive Force Allegations Surface in Cities Church Protest Arrests
Excessive force allegations surfaced after federal agents arrested protesters connected to the Cities Church demonstration, with defendants and attorneys questioning the use of the FACE Act and court-imposed restrictions.
Federal agents forced a Black English teacher to appear in federal court Feb. 27 wearing only his boxers after arresting him in North Minneapolis before dawn. The allegation is one of several claims of excessive force that surfaced as Attorney General Pam Bondi announced new charges against 39 people under a law originally designed to protect abortion clinics.
“Drew is an African American man, and they had him looking like he was escaping from a plantation, which is absolutely absurd,” said civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong.
Andrew Edwards, an English teacher, told reporters he was given no opportunity to dress before agents removed him from his home.
“I heard some things outside of my window. So I approached the window, and I seen the officer’s gun, and the brother told me go to the door,” Edwards said. “They took me outside, and the brother started to pull out his Taser, like he was about to tase me.”
Edwards was one of 19 people who appeared in court Friday following early morning arrests.
Allegations of Force
Armstrong and other defendants also alleged that federal agents rammed the vehicle of Thomas Tier twice during his arrest around 4:30 a.m.
“One vehicle rammed his car from the front, one vehicle rammed his car from the back,” Armstrong said.
Agents also forced entry into the homes of Edwards and David Okar, a reporter who covers protests under the name Brixton Hughes. Armstrong said a neighbor repaired Okar’s door after the arrest. Okar is now the fourth journalist charged in the case, joining Georgia Fort, Don Lemon and producer Jerome Richardson.
Courthouse Confrontation
Outside the St. Paul courthouse, tensions escalated when Zak X arrived Friday carrying mace. He was previously charged in December after photos surfaced showing him wearing tactical gloves and punching protesters outside the Whipple Federal Building.
Defendant Emily Phillips said she pleaded over her megaphone for federal agents inside the courthouse to intervene.
“I said hi when he drove by, and then he walked up immediately, brandishing mace, and he walked all the way up to the doors of the federal building,” Phillips said. “I was on my megaphone telling the Feds that they should come arrest him, but they called a regular cop who showed up like 30 minutes later.”
Phillips questioned why St. Paul police did not make arrests at Cities Church on Jan. 18 if the administration believed the protest made the church unsafe.
“It feels like they are just coming after anyone who dares open their mouth,” Phillips said. “The police were on scene that day, and they didn’t arrest anyone on scene.”
Court Restrictions and Biometric Collection
For defendant William Kelly, the court-imposed restrictions extended into his home. He said agents confiscated his firearms and passport and barred him from leaving the state. His wife, Ariel Hauptman, who was also released that day, is prohibited from possessing pepper spray while living with him.
Kelly and Hauptman said DHS collected mouth swabs from them during detention, a biometric practice that privacy advocates say has expanded significantly under President Trump. Kelly said he believes the scope of his restrictions reflects his history of political activism.
“That’s why I think I got the most restrictions, because they really don’t want me to continue going around the country protesting,” Kelly said.
Three days into his presidency, Trump pardoned 23 people convicted under the same Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act. The law is now being used to prosecute protesters connected to the Cities Church demonstration. Among those pardoned was Lauren Handy, who had been serving a 57-month sentence. According to a DOJ indictment, Handy used a fake name to book an appointment at a Washington, D.C., clinic. Once inside, her group forced their way through a door after it was unlocked for patients, knocking a nurse to the ground and spraining her ankle.
“WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,” Bondi posted on social media after the Cities Church protests. During her tenure as Florida attorney general, abortion clinics were firebombed and a mosque was set on fire on the anniversary of 9/11. Bondi did not publicly call for FACE Act prosecutions in those cases.
Broader Concerns
For Wayman AME Church Rev. Anthony Galloway, the prosecutions carry moral weight.
“Christ said directly the most important commandments: to love God above all, and your neighbor as yourself. On these two principles hang all the law and the prophets,” Galloway said. “Empire is something that Christ was on the opposite side of.”
The case comes amid broader concerns about actions against journalists and political activists. Last month, federal agents searched the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, seizing two cell phones, a laptop and a smartwatch.
“This is not American. This is not justice,” Kelly said. “This is the Department of injustice.”
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