A federal judge refused to sign a complaint against former CNN host Don Lemon for his alleged role in storming a Minnesota church service on Sunday with a mob of anti-ICE agitators.
Attorney General Pam Bondi was “enraged” at the magistrate judge’s refusal to sign the charges, a source familiar with the proceedings told The Daily Wire.
Federal authorities made three arrests of protestors who allegedly took part in targeting the church over a pastor accused of serving as an ICE chief in Minnesota.
Lemon was seen on video at the protest under the guise of covering it as an independent journalist.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, however, said Monday that freedom of the press does not extend to “being part of the group that storms inside of a church” in reference to Lemon.
“Freedom of the press extends to a lot of different areas,” Blanche told Fox News’s Will Cain. “It does not extend to somebody just trespassing and being embedded with a group of rioters and being part of the group that storms inside of a church… the fact that Mr. Lemon thought that was a good idea, and then raced away from it saying it was ‘freedom of the press’ — well, we’ll see.”
Don Lemon blatantly admits his intent to violate the FACE Act by contacting the leader of an anti-ICE group to storm a church.
“They’re planning an operation. We’ll follow them. They’ll catch people off guard. That’s what we’re doing.”pic.twitter.com/qSUbPvLWDP
— MRC NewsBusters (@newsbusters) January 19, 2026
Assistant Attorney for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon hinted on Monday that charges could be brought against Lemon for his alleged involvement.
“Don Lemon himself has come out and said he knew exactly what was going to happen inside that facility. He went into the facility, and then he began ‘committing journalism,’ as if that’s sort of a shield from being a part, an embedded part of a criminal conspiracy, it isn’t,” she told podcaster Benny Johnson on Monday.
Dhillon also said that the Justice Department was looking into possible violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which has long been weaponized against pro-life protesters, and the Ku Klux Klan Act.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Republican who represents Minnesota, told The Daily Wire that Lemon, whom he called “that failed reporter, that loser, that Lemon loser,” should face accountability for joining the mob.
“They’ve been led to believe that this type of behavior is acceptable. I mean, we’ve got [Minnesota Democratic Governor] Tim Walz and [Attorney General] Keith Ellison, literally doing everything they can to obstruct the lawful actions of federal law enforcement,” Emmer said.
Despite facing pushback from the judge, the Trump administration is reportedly exploring other avenues to charge Lemon.
Following the demonstration, Lemon slammed the Christian worshippers as people entitled by “white supremacy.”
During a press conference on Tuesday, President Donald Trump called Lemon a “loser” and “lightweight” for allegedly taking part in the protest.
“I saw him, the way he walked in that church was terrible. I have such respect for that pastor. He was so calm. He was so nice,” Trump said. “He was just accosted. What they did in that church was horrible.”
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