The five include former CNN anchor Don Lemon and civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong.
Both Lemon and Armstrong pleaded not guilty. Others did the same.
Two more defendants accused in the protest at a Southern Baptist church in St. Paul are scheduled for arraignment next week. All togther, nine people have been charged in the case.
Protesters stormed Cities Church on Jan. 18 in the midst of its Sunday morning service. They say they chose that church because one of the pastors also works for the local ICE office.
Lemon's attorney Abbe David Lowell told the judge that she will raise First Amendment issues in the case. Lemon claims he is a journalist and was at the church to chronicle the protest but was not a participant. Members of the congregation have disputed that claim.
Lowell also asked for Lemon's phone to be returned after it was taken from him during his arrest in Los Angeles. Prosecutors said the phone is in Department of Homeland Security custody, and that the search warrant for it is under seal. The phone cannot be returned until the search process is completed, the prosecutor said.
The church protest drew sharp complaints from conservative religious and political leaders. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned in a social media post: “President Trump will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of Christians in their sacred places of worship.”
All nine are charged under the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which prohibits interference or intimidation of “any person by force, threat of force, or physical obstruction exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.” Penalties can range to a year in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
