MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota activist who was charged for her role in an anti-immigration enforcement protest at a church released her own video of her arrest Friday after the White House posted a manipulated image online.
The White House on Thursday posted a picture on its X page of civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong crying with her hands behind her back as she was escorted by a blurred person wearing a badge. The photo was captioned in all caps: “Arrested far-left agitator Nekima Levy Armstrong for orchestrating church 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, who was arrested with at least two others Thursday for an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a church where an ICE official also serves as a pastor, released her own video. Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Allen, a St. Paul school board member who was also arrested in connection to the protest, were both released Friday, according to a post by Levy Armstrong's organization, the Racial Justice Network. Their attorneys declined to comment.
The video shot by Levy Armstrong’s husband, Marques Armstrong, shows several federal agents approaching to arrest her.
“I’m asking you to please treat me with dignity and respect,” she said to the agents.
“We have to put you in handcuffs,” one agent said, while another held up a phone and appeared to record a video.
“Why are you recording?” Levy Armstrong asked. “I would ask that you not record.”
“It’s not going to be on Twitter,” the agent filming said. “It’s not going to be on anything like that.”
“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 being handcuffed and led into a government vehicle -- did Levy Armstrong appear to cry. Instead, she talked with agents about her arrest.
“You know that this is a significant abuse of power,” she said. “Because I refuse to be silent in the face of brutality from ICE.”
“I’m not in here to get in a political debate,” the agent filming said.
In an audio message that Levy Armstrong’s spokesperson shared with The Associated Press, Levy Armstrong said the video of her arrest exposes that the Trump administration had used AI to manipulate images of her arrest.
“We are being politically persecuted for speaking out against authoritarianism, fascism and the tyranny of the Trump administration,” said Levy Armstrong, who recorded the message Friday morning during a call with her husband from jail.
The Department of Homeland Security didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Associated Press reporters Giovanna Dell'Orto in Minneapolis and Tiffany Stanley in Washington, D.C., contributed.
FILE - Nekima Levy Armstrong holds up her fist after speaking at an anti-ICE rally for Martin Luther King Jr., Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis, File)
MILAN (AP) — At the Milan Cortina Olympic Games, winning medals isn’t the only thing making hearts swell. From the ice rinks to the snowy hills, love is in the frozen air.
Some competitions already seem to have Cupid in attendance.
Dutch skater Jutta Leerdam set an Olympic record in the 1000-meter race, then turned to find her fiancé Jake Paul in the stands; both visibly weeping, they made heart signs to one another with their hands. And downhill skiing champion Breezy Johnson ’s longtime boyfriend proposed to her near the finish line Thursday while surrounded by members of the U.S. Ski Team.
Valentine's Day for athletes and attendees at the Games doesn't usually mean grand gestures, but it's no less special.
Valentine’s Day is the finals for the women’s skeleton event. That means that Kim Meylemans of Belgium and Nicole Rocha Silveira of Brazil — an international couple who play for their separate national teams — will be too busy for a romantic dinner. They told The Associated Press they didn’t even bring gifts to exchange.
But since they are together all the time, “It’s always a bit of a Valentine's Day," Meylemans said. “It is part of our sport every day, our love.”
The two feel fortunate their national Olympic committees arranged for them to bunk together at Cortina's Olympic village, since typically only teammates share housing. Half their room is decorated for Belgium, the other half Brazil.
Rocha Silveira was new to the sport in 2019 when Meylemans was already competing in World Cup races. They fell in love during the pandemic while sharing short-term rentals, since many hotels closed.
Fast forward to 2024, and they unknowingly bought identical engagement rings and planned proposals for the same boat trip in Brazil while on vacation. They married last August.
When they compete, they high-five and kiss before each run, wishing the other well.
“It doesn’t matter which one is on the podium. At the end of the day, it’s a victory for our team," Meylemans said.
Rocha Silveira said it’s important their relationship appears during these Games in Italy, where same-sex marriages aren't recognized and only married heterosexual couples are allowed to jointly adopt.
It’s a great place to “show it even more,” and “encourage and inspire people that they can be themselves,” she said.
Lori and Curtis Brown have been married for over 30 years and will be spend Valentine's Day at the skating arena where they are volunteering for this year’s Winter Olympics.
About 18,000 volunteers are spread across the venues in northern Italy — a sea of navy blue uniforms keeping the Olympics running around the clock, with duties such as giving directions, accompanying athletes to venues, crowd control and medical support.
Curtis, 60, said neither of them had realized they were scheduled to work. Now, they're hoping they can coincide their breaks to have dinner together, perhaps surrounded by the rest of the volunteers, he joked.
“This is the most special Valentine’s Day of our lives,” Curtis said. “Because we’re both here, we’re both on the same page, we’re both enjoying this adventure together.”
While presents are neither’s love language, Lori, 61, told the AP she bought boxer briefs from the official Milan Cortina souvenir store. Curtis hadn’t bought anything for her.
“It’s not so much about gift giving, just going out and doing something together,” said Lori, 61. She spoke while sitting beside Curtis, so perhaps she’ll be surprised on Saturday.
Canadian hockey forward Laura Stacey and her wife, team captain Marie-Philip Poulin, have a different kind of date: playing Germany's team in the quarterfinals in Milan.
“We have a game, we have a big game, so spending it together. We’re pretty lucky,” Stacey said. “Most people don’t get to do what they love, chasing their dreams together, and we do. So I think on February 14th, I think it’s important for us to just appreciate that and not take it for granted."
Aside from taking on Germany, they don't have plans — but Stacey said they will surely at least give each other cards.
Many other couples are at the Olympics, some teammates and others competing against each other.
— U.S. alpine skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin — that sport’s all-time wins leader — is engaged to Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who returned to racing this season after dealing with major injuries.
— Latvia’s luge team includes the husband-and-wife pair of Martins Bots and Elina Bota, both single sliders.
— Italy’s luge team Dominik Fischnaller and the U.S.'s Emily Sweeney married last year after dating for almost 15 years.
— U.S. bobsledding has a power couple with reigning women’s monobloc world champion Kaysha Love engaged to men’s push athlete Hunter Powell. She’s in the Olympics for the second time, while he's making his debut.
— American figure skaters Madison Chock and Evan Bates were married in 2024 and won a silver medal on Wednesday.
—Curling may have the most well-known couples of any sport. Norway’s Magnus Nedregotten and Kristin Skaslien have been together since 2008 and won bronze in Pyeongchang. Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant of Canada married in 2022 and were favorites this year. There are Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller and Briar Schwalller-Huerlimann, too; they brought their baby and photos of him carrying a curling broom twice his size went viral.
He looked like a curling Cupid.
Associated Press writers Jennifer McDermott in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy and John Wawrow in Milan contributed to this report.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Belgium's Kim Meylemans, right, and Brazil's Nicole Rocha Silveira, left, embrace at the finish during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Belgium's Kim Meylemans, left, and Brazil's Nicole Rocha Silveira react, at the finish during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Brasil's Nicole Rocha Silveira arrives at the finish during a women's skeleton training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Belgium's Kim Meylemans starts for a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Belgium's Kim Meylemans, left, and Brazil's Nicole Rocha Silveira react, at the finish during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
