A Minnesota activist who was indicted for her role in an anti-immigration protest at a church released her own video of her arrest on Friday after the White House posted a manipulated image online.
The White House on Thursday released apictureon his X page of civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong crying with her hands behind her back as she was escorted by a blurry person wearing a badge. The photo was captioned in all caps: “Arrested far-left agitator Nekima Levy Armstrong for orchestrating religious riots in Minnesota.” »
A photo posted by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s account showed the same image with Levy Armstrong wearing a neutral expression.
Levy Armstrong, whowas arrestedwith at least two other people Thursday for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a church where an ICE official is also a pastor, released his own video. Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Allen, a St. Paul school board member who was also arrested in connection with the protest, were both released Friday, according to an article published by Levy Armstrong’s organization, the Racial Justice Network. Their lawyers declined to comment.
Video shot by Levy Armstrong’s husband, Marques Armstrong, shows several federal agents approaching to arrest her.
“I ask that you treat me with dignity and respect,” she told officers.
“We need to put you in handcuffs,” one officer said, while another held up a phone and appeared to record video.
“Why are you recording?” » asked Levy Armstrong. “I would ask you not to record.”
“It’s not going to be on Twitter,” the film’s rep said. “It’s not going to happen on something like this.”
“We don’t want to create a false narrative,” the agent said.
At no point in the more than seven-minute video — which shows Levy Armstrong handcuffed and driven in a government vehicle — did Levy Armstrong appear to cry. Instead, she spoke with officers about her arrest.
“You know this is a significant abuse of power,” she said. “Because I refuse to remain silent in the face of ICE brutality.”
“I’m not here to engage in a political debate,” the officer filming said.
In an audio message shared by Levy Armstrong’s spokesperson with The Associated Press, Levy Armstrong said the video of his arrest reveals that the Trump administration used AI to manipulate footage of his arrest.
“We are being politically persecuted for speaking out against the authoritarianism, fascism and tyranny of the Trump administration,” said Levy Armstrong, who recorded the message Friday morning in a call with her husband from prison.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis and Tiffany Stanley, in Washington, D.C., contributed.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
