Feb 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Friday charged 30 more people accused of disrupting a Minnesota church service last month in protest of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operation.
The indictment vastly increases the scope of a criminal case that already included former CNN anchor Don Lemon, one of nine people initially charged. All 39 defendants are charged with conspiracy against the right of religious worship and violating a law that forbids obstructing access
to houses of worship.
"At my direction, federal agents have already arrested 25 of them, with more to come throughout the day," U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media. "YOU CANNOT ATTACK A HOUSE OF WORSHIP. If you do so, you cannot hide from us — we will find you, arrest you, and prosecute you."
Lemon and several others previously charged have pleaded not guilty. Lemon, now an independent journalist who livestreamed the demonstration, has argued the charges violate his free press rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Lemon and other defendants have argued they are being targeted for opposing the Trump administration's immigration policies.
The January 18 protest at Cities Church in St. Paul drew widespread attention as the Trump administration deployed large numbers of federal agents to the region in an immigration crackdown that spurred protests and led to the killing of two U.S. citizens by immigration agents.
Protest organizers have said they picked the church because they believed a senior pastor there was an official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Justice Department has moved aggressively to charge people involved with the demonstration, even after a federal judge initially declined to sign off on the arrests of several defendants. The indictment accuses the demonstrators of organizing a "coordinated takeover-style attack" on the church.
Video footage showed demonstrators interrupting the service by shouting anti-ICE slogans and confronting some congregants, prompting many to flee.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward and Bhargav Acharya, Writing by Andrew Goudsward and Christian Martinez; Editing by Rod Nickel)
