Feds drop charges against Brooklyn Park woman after mistakenly arresting her in church protest
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Federal prosecutors on Friday dismissed charges against a Brooklyn Park woman they mistakenly identified as one of the demonstrators who disrupted a service at a St. Paul church.
Heather Danae Lewis no longer faces federal charges for taking part in the Jan.18 anti-ICE demonstration at Cities Church on Summit Avenue. Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights attorney and Christian minister, organized the protest after learning that acting ICE field office director David Easterwood is part of the church’s ministry team.
Brock Hunter, Lewis’ attorney, told MPR News on Sunday that Lewis never entered the church or took part in the demonstration.
U.S. Attorney Dan Rosen, who approved the indictments against Lewis and 38 other defendants, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Sunday. An MPR News request for comment from the Department of Homeland Security was referred to the Justice Department.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Hunter said federal investigators identified Lewis after watching video of the church protest, but did not confirm her identity before arresting her.
”They were just confident that this was her,” he said.
Hunter added that Lewis told investigators she was at the same Cub Foods parking lot where protesters had gathered prior to the demonstration, but she wasn’t a part of their group.
Hunter said the government likely used cell phone tower data in an attempt to determine who had been part of the parking lot gathering and cross referenced it with video that journalists Georgia Fort and Don Lemon had posted to social media. Fort and Lemon are also facing charges along with the protesters.
“They did show her some still images from video that they were claiming were her,” he said. “And, yeah, she said, ‘She looked like me, but so do a lot of middle aged women in Minnesota. And it wasn’t me.’”
According to Hunter, Lewis was at the Cub Foods on Jan. 18 to pick up storage cabinets, shelving and other items she purchased in an auction after the supermarket closed and sold its equipment during a liquidation sale.
Hunter said he has worked on cases of mistaken identity but never anything like this. He noted the evidence proving Lewis’s innocence was clear and it was only a matter of time before federal prosecutors dropped the charges.
Hunter said federal authorities never notified Lewis that she was a target of their investigation. That practice, which is typical in federal investigations “was clearly not followed,” and it would have allowed Lewis to hire legal counsel and explain her side to prosecutors before they presented their case to a grand jury.
“The fact that this woman, Ms. Lewis, who literally did nothing wrong and was not involved in any way, got swept up in such a high-profile case and indicted without ever being even given an opportunity to provide her side of anything is just emblematic of how unusual this whole situation is that we're living through here right now,” he said.
Lewis was baffled by the whole ordeal, he said.
“I am glad this simple case of mistaken identity is finally coming to an end for me, and I am happy that my family no longer has to worry that I could be arrested again at any moment,” Lewis said in a statement. “This has been a stressful time for my family.”
