MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota activist, Nekima Levy Armstrong, who was charged during an anti-ICE protest, pushed back against the White House's misleading portrayal of her arrest by sharing her own video of the event. The protest disrupted a church service, where a pastor was also an ICE official.
The White House's social media post featured an edited image of Levy Armstrong crying while being escorted by federal officers, which was later revealed to be manipulated. In response, Levy Armstrong released footage shot by her husband, showing her calm demeanor and interactions with the agents during her arrest.
According to Levy Armstrong, the video counters notions that she was crying or under duress at the time of her arrest. Instead, she focused on asserting her dignity while protesting against what she described as the brutality of ICE.
I'm asking you to please treat me with dignity and respect, she told the agents during the arrest, a detail that stands in contrast to the narrative portrayed by the manipulated image.
In her own audio message shared post-release, Levy Armstrong also highlighted deeper systemic issues, stating, We are being politically persecuted for speaking out against authoritarianism, fascism, and the tyranny of the Trump administration. The incident has ignited conversations about the role of media narrative in political activism, particularly as related to images and video manipulation.
The Department of Homeland Security has yet to comment on these developments or the claims raised by Levy Armstrong.
