The White House altered and posted to social media an image of an arrested Minnesota protester on Thursday to make it appear as if she was crying, a senior White House official confirmed to NBC News.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had posted the original image on X of civil rights activist Nekima Levy Armstrong looking ahead calmly as she was taken into custody Thursday. She was one of three people arrested in connection with a demonstration that interrupted a service last Sunday at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, whose pastor they said works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The senior White House official referred to the altered photo as a “meme” and pointed NBC News to a post from White House deputy communications director Kaelan Dorr, who said on X: “Enforcement of the law will continue. The memes will continue.”
Throughout President Donald Trump’s second term, administration officials have been posting memes and promoting A.I.-generated images across government social media accounts to spread certain messages.
Armstrong was arrested along with Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly. Organizers of the protest said they were calling for the resignation of pastor David Easterwood over his ties to ICE.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that Armstrong would be charged under a federal law that bars physical obstruction of houses of worship.
Armstrong’s attorney, Jordan Kushner, told NBC News on Thursday afternoon that his client was “arrested for doing a peaceful nonviolent protest in a church” and that demonstrators “were engaged in an exercise of free speech.”
Protests in Minnesota have exploded in recent weeks following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer. The Trump administration has been surging federal personnel to the state since the end of last year amid allegations of fraud, amplified by right-wing influencers, at Somali-run day cares.Trump has floated invoking the Insurrection Act — which could allow him to deploy troops to the region — in response to the protests.
While visiting Minneapolis, Vice President JD Vance addressed the ongoing protests in remarks on Thursday, saying, “If you go and storm a church, if you go and assault a former law enforcement officer, we’re going to try very hard, we’re going to use every resource of the federal government to put you in prison,” he said.
Ryan J. Reilly contributed.
