Federal agents on Thursday arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong, one of the organizers of Sunday’s staged church storming in St. Paul, Minn., according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Beyond Armstrong’s known activism with Black Lives Matter and the Racial Justice Network, Armstrong earned over $1 million in compensation and benefits over the six years she led a Minneapolis civil rights nonprofit with a now-defunct website.
“So far, we have arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong, who allegedly played a key role in organizing the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,” Bondi wrote on X. “Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP.”
Minutes ago at my direction, @HSI_HQ and @FBI agents executed an arrest in Minnesota.
So far, we have arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong, who allegedly played a key role in organizing the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
We will share more updates as they…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 22, 2026
Shortly after that, Bondi gave an update, announcing the arrest of a second demonstrator, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, a leader of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities and a St. Paul School Board member.
Homeland Security Investigators and FBI agents arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong who played a key role in orchestrating the Church Riots in St. Paul, Minnesota.
She is being charged with a federal crime under 18 USC 241.
Religious freedom is the bedrock of the United States -… pic.twitter.com/LHh994fXf3
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) January 22, 2026
FBI Director Kash Patel also posted on X about the arrests and said the two activists are charged with violating the FACE Act, which prohibits interfering with the exercise of religion at a place of worship.
This morning FBI and partners @HSI_HQ executed an arrest of Nekima Levy Armstrong – one of the individuals who allegedly organized the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota this last weekend – on a violation of the FACE Act.
More updates to come. @AGPamBondi…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) January 22, 2026
Nearly 30 demonstrators marched into Cities Church during its service, yelling “Justice for Renee Good” and “ICE out” chants as angry activists shouted at church attendees for “being comfortable white people.” Video from the sanctuary takeover showed activists screaming at people, including children.
Don Lemon, the former CNN host who reported from the protest on his YouTube channel, embedded with the disrupters prior to the demonstration and mentioned Armstrong by name, The New York Post reported.
“It’s Nekima Armstrong, she’s been doing this since George Floyd, Daunte Wright and others, where they surprise people, catch them off-guard and hold them to account,” the former CNN host added, dropping the name of a prominent local activist.
Armstrong also spoke to Democracy Now and admits that “four Black women activists and organizers planned Sunday’s protest, and I was one of the four. And we are unapologetic about going into the church.”
In a Facebook post, Armstrong tagged several other activists involved in Sunday’s demonstration inside Cities Church. The protestors claimed that one of the church’s pastors works for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“David Easterwood is a Pastor at this church and the Acting Field Director for the ICE office in St. Paul. It’s time for judgment to begin and it will begin in the House of God!!!” Armstrong wrote in the pinned post.
On her Facebook page, Armstrong lists various occupations, including civil rights attorney, social justice activist and founder of the Racial Justice Network.
Armstrong even lists herself as CEO + Culinary Director at Dope Roots, a cannabis company, on Facebook but leaves off her role at the Wayfinder Foundation. She does include the title of Executive Director of Wayfinder Foundation from February 2019 to December 2024 on her LinkedIn profile.
According to records on ProPublica, Armstrong brought in a salary of $215,726 plus $40,548 in health benefits, benefit plan contributions and deferred compensation, according to the 2024 filing.
Fox News Digital reported that Armstrong made $936,395 as executive director of the Wayfinder Foundation, plus an additional $201,313 in health benefits and other compensation from 2019 through 2024. In the same time span, the foundation reported $5,246,387 in revenue.
Meanwhile, during Armstrong’s time in leadership, the Wayfinder Foundation disbursed approximately $700,052 in grants, according to tax filings by the Wayfinder Foundation.
In 2024, the foundation awarded just $158,811 in grants to anti-poverty community initiatives, while Armstrong brought in a salary of $215,726.
In 2023, the year that the nonprofit awarded $133,698 in grants, Armstrong brought in a salary of $170,726, plus $44,300 in other “compensation from the organization and related organizations,” according to that year’s filing. On top of that, the foundation spent another $450,000 on other salaries and wages, according to ProPublica.
Fox News reported the foundation counted Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation as a donor. According to a 2023 Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation tax filing, the group donated $20,000 to Wayfinder “to conduct activities to educate and support Black communities.”
The Walton Family Foundation is also a major donor. According to 2018-2024 tax filings, the family foundation behind Walmart’s founding donated $2.34 million to the Wayfinder Foundation during that time period.
Another website, edhivemn.com, also lists Armstrong’s total compensation along with 2023 compensation for Chauntyll Allen, who Armstrong tags in a Facebook post celebrating Sunday’s demonstration. Allen lists her occupation as Saint Paul School Board Public Official.
Fox News reported the foundation is dedicated to giving grants to anti-poverty community initiatives. But a search of the internet indicates a different mission.
According to givemn.org, the Wayfinder Foundation’s mission is “to elevate, amplify, and invest in Black and Brown women activists and organizers who are confronting and dismantling systemic inequities by leading social change and shifting power in their communities.” The address listed for the nonprofit is in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The givemn.org website seeking donations links to the foundation’s website wayfinder.foundation, which turns up a “website expired” notice. Edhivemn.com also links to the foundation’s now defunct website.
The foundation’s archived pages states the foundation is a “national 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to fiercely challenging racial inequities within public education and the criminal justice system. We strategically use our voices, our influence, and our resources to engage Black and Brown communities and to advocate for public policy changes at the local, state, and federal levels.”
In its signature Community Activist Fellowship (CAF) program, “we intentionally invest in Black women and Latina activists, organizers, and change agents who are using their social, political, and financial capital to challenge the status quo and to disrupt business-as-usual within systems that perpetuate oppression.”
The website also links to a page on Moms For Liberation, with a message from Armstrong that the group’s mission is to advocate for “freedom and liberation, ensuring that all Black people experience true emancipation.”
“Our unwavering commitment lies in creating a just and equitable society where every Black person can thrive, free from the constraints of systemic racism, white supremacy, and discrimination,” she adds.
In a message from Armstrong to potential donors on the defunct website, she wrote:
“Where others see deficiencies, lack, and want, Wayfinder sees opportunity for little revolutions that place demands on power and change systems for the better. We get there by investing directly in the most basic unit of change in a child’s life, their mother.”
Armstrong’s website identifies her as an award-winning civil rights lawyer, “scholar-activist” and a best-selling author. Her children’s book, “J is for Justice,” teaches young readers the power of protest, community, and activism.
She also served as former president of NAACP Minneapolis and worked as a former professor of law. Twin Cities Business also includes her in a listing as a Change Agent in 2021 and an Influencer in 2017.
And Sunday wasn’t the first time Armstrong has caused controversy through her far-left views and activism. She helped organize the boycotts against Target over its decision to scale back its diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
According to other Fox News reports, Armstrong was also charged with multiple misdemeanors related to her participation in Black Lives Matter protests in 2014.
