Charges dropped against protester accused of disrupting Easter service outside Cities Church
A judge has dropped charges against a protester arrested on Easter outside Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, the same church at the center of a January national media firestorm when activists stormed its sanctuary during worship to protest one of its pastors serving as a federal immigration agent.
Ramsey County District Judge Maria Mitchel dismissed all charges against a 33-year-old anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement activist named Emily Heather Phillips on Monday, reported The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Defense attorney Trisha Pohland said the judge’s “words were that she couldn’t find any probable cause” and that the protester was only using "her unamplified voice" after police warned her to quit using a blow-horn, according to the newspaper.
Cities Church Pastor Jonathan Parnell denounced the decision, telling The Tribune that he was “disheartened that the charges against the individual arrested yesterday have been dropped."
"State law protects the right of people of faith to worship in peace, and I call on state and local officials to enforce the law," he added.
St. Paul police announced on Easter Sunday that an unnamed demonstrator had been arrested outside Cities Church. The individual was part of a group assembled outside the church.
According to the statement, officers who had been “contracted overtime at Cities Church” encountered a group of protesters around 8:30 a.m. who were “using a blow horn and yelling loudly, disrupting the church services.”
Authorities gave the group multiple opportunities to stop their behavior or face possible arrest. Although the “majority of the group complied,” police arrested “an adult female” who refused to comply.
A police report posted online later identified the protester as Emily Phillips of Stevens Point, Wisconsin. She faced misdemeanor counts, including disorderly conduct, interfering with a religious observance, knowingly participating in a noisy assembly and making or continuing a disturbing or excessive noise.
The report included brief officer comments alleging that the suspect “engaged in offensive behavior outside a church where minors were present.”
Nekima Levy Armstrong, an attorney and progressive activist who is facing federal charges for leading the Jan. 18 storming of the church, took to her Facebook account to call on people to support Phillips during her arraignment on Monday morning.
“St. Paul police showed up on the scene in an attempt to stifle protesters’ First Amendment right to freedom of speech,” Armstrong stated. “We should not be surprised, given SPPD’s support of ICE in recent months.”
On Jan. 18, dozens of protesters disrupted the worship service at Cities Church. They were joined by journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, who also face federal charges, though they contend they were only covering the protest as journalists.
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged 39 people for their involvement in the Jan. 18 Cities Church protest, accusing them of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which includes a provision protecting houses of worship from physical intimidation.
The official indictment, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, claimed that the protesters carried out “a coordinated takeover-style attack” and allegedly engaged in “acts of oppression, intimidation, threats, interference, and physical obstruction.”
Protesters reportedly interrupted the sermon at the January service with “loud declarations,” including yelling, whistles and chants like “ICE out!” and “Stand up, fight back!”
Lemon, who attempted to interview Cities Church Pastor Jonathan Parnell afterward, defended the demonstration as protected by the First Amendment.
Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ Civil Rights Division, rejected Lemon’s claims that the protest was lawful and that he was acting as a journalist while covering it.
“A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest!” Dhillon tweeted. “It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws! Nor does the First Amendment protect your pseudo journalism of disrupting a prayer service.”
Since the highly publicized protest in January, progressive activists have held multiple demonstrations on nearby public property outside Cities Church without incident.
