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30 more people charged in anti-ICE church protest
Thirty more people have been charged for their roll in an anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul church. FOX 9's Mary McGuire has more.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Charges against a woman for her connection to an anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul church have been dismissed and cannot be refiled.
Anti-ICE church protest charges dropped
What we know:
According to documents filed in federal court Friday, the charges Heather Denae Lewis have been dismissed by a judge, with prejudice.
Dismissing charges with prejudice means they can never refile the charges against Lewis.
Lewis was one of 30 people who were indicted in connection to the protest in late February.
What we don't know:
The court document did not say why Lewis' charges were dropped.
Church protest evidence
Dig deeper:
In another court document filed Friday in the case, a magistrate judge who has early oversight of the case stated that the government has produced zero evidence for the defendants.
"So, here we are, months into a case that the government had an intense appetite to initiate, but cannot seem to keep up the pace when it comes to discovery obligations. This is unacceptable," the judge said in the court document.
Protesters already facing federal charges
The backstory:
The group of protesters stormed the church on Jan. 18, demanding pastor David Easterwood resign. Along with his work at the church, protesters were upset with Easterwood's status as acting director of the ICE field office in St. Paul.
Video showed protesters chanting and bringing the service to a halt. Since the protest, federal prosecutors have brought charges against at least seven of the demonstrators, including organizer Nekima Levy-Armstrong and St. Paul School Board Member Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and two journalists who entered the church covering the protest, former CNN anchor Don Lemon and Twin Cities independent reporter Georgia Fort.
All nine people facing charges are accused of violations of the FACE Act and the KKK Act.