White House appears to alter photo of lawyer arrested over protest
The Trump administration shared on social media what appears to be a digitally altered photo of one of the people arrested in connection to a recent protest at a Minnesota church.
The image, posted Thursday to the official White House account on X, formerly called Twitter, shows activist and civil rights lawyer Nekima Levy Armstrong being detained by a law enforcement officer, with her mouth open and tears streaming down her face.
Less than an hour before, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s X account had posted a nearly identical photo of Armstrong but with a much more composed expression, with her mouth closed and no tears on her face.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed on social media that Armstrong was taken into custody by federal agents. In addition to Armstrong, Bondi announced two other people were arrested over their alleged involvement in a protest that interrupted a Sunday service at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
On Thursday, White House Deputy Communications Director Kaelan Dorr appeared to confirm the picture was altered in a post on his official account on X.
“YET AGAIN to the people who feel the need to reflexively defend perpetrators of heinous crimes in our country I share with you this message: Enforcement of the law will continue. The memes will continue,” Dorr wrote.
The White House did not immediately respond to USA TODAY for additional comment.
Who is Nekima Levy Armstrong?
Armstrong, 49, is an American civil rights lawyer based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. She is the former president of the Minneapolis NAACP, according to her website, and ran an unsuccessful campaign for mayor of Minneapolis in 2017.
Who was arrested during St. Paul church protest?
In addition to Armstrong, officials also arrested Chauntyll Louisa Allen, a member of the St. Paul Public School board. Willliam Kelly, an anti-ICE activist and Army veteran, was also arrested, Bondi said.
Noem alleged the three arrestees helped organize the protest and said the trio is being charged with conspiracy to deprive rights in connection with the demonstration at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
A group of protestors entered the church on Sunday alleging Pastor David Easterwood serves as the ICE St. Paul Field Office acting director. The protest was held less than two weeks after the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old American woman killed by an ICE officer on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis.
The arrests come after the Department of Justice said it was investigating the protest as a potential violation of the FACE Act, which protects access to religious worship under the First Amendment.