As Jonathan Parnell began his sermon, the indictment says Levy Armstrong interrupted with loud declarations that “the time for judgment had come.” Other demonstrators yelled and blew whistles in what prosecutors described as a “takeover attack on the church.”
The indictment alleges members of the congregation perceived gestures by protesters as hostile and interpreted them as potential threats of violence. It also claims Lemon and Fort surrounded Parnell and questioned him aggressively in what prosecutors characterized as an attempt to intimidate him.