Temple Student Charged In Connection With Anti-ICE Protest At Minnesota Church

PHILADELPHIA — A Temple University political science student surrendered to federal authorities in Philadelphia Monday in connection with an anti-ICE protest at a church in Minneapolis back in mid-January.

Jerome Deangelo Richardson, 21, of St. Paul, Minnesota, was indicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act by a grand jury after a judge declined to press charges.

The charges stem from a Jan. 18 protest at Cities Church in Minneapolis. Protesters targeted the church due to Pastor David Easterwood, who leads the St. Paul ICE field office.

"We have made two more arrests in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota: Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson," United States Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media Monday. Bondi described the Jan. 18 incident as a "coordinated attack."

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon and independent journalist Georgia Fort were also charged in connection with the incident, and Richardson was "providing logistical support" to Lemon as he reported on ICE activity in the Minneapolis area, according to a GoFundMe campaign set up for Richardson.

Lemon said he was there to document protesters, not as a protester himself.

"Jerome felt compelled to expose the racial profiling and everyday injustices occurring." the campaign page reads. "He felt the story of community leaders who went to Cities Church in St. Paul was important to cover, as their goal was to expose the hypocrisy of David Easterwood serving both as a pastor at the church and the local leader of ICE operations. Jerome believes that what people are experiencing goes against human and civil rights as well as the teachings of Jesus. He has always been unapologetic about humanity and his faith, inspired by those who have been detained and those who continue to fight for justice."

"As other leaders have shared, I too worship the Jesus who flipped over tables in the temple," Richardson said in a statement on the page.

As of Tuesday morning, the campaign has raised nearly $32,000 of its $40,000 goal.

Richardson became the second-youngest NAACP president in Minnesota history at 16 years old, according to campaign organizer Mary McCallum.

He was also the executive director of the state’s largest student-led nonprofit, Minnesota Teen Activists, where his work was featured by CBS, NPR, BBC, BuzzFeed, National Geographic, Yahoo News, Teen Vogue, and the New York Times, the page reads.