Late Tuesday night, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pledged that authorities would soon arrest those who stormed Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement&#8217;s presence in the Twin Cities.
“There will be arrests tied to that, and people will be brought to justice for how they violated the law in that situation,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kristi-noem-promises-arrests-in-the-next-several-hours-over-church-stormed-by-anti-ice-activists?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Kristi+Noem+Promises+Arrests+%E2%80%98In+The+Next+Several+Hours%E2%80%99+Over+Church+Stormed+By+Anti-ICE+Activists">Noem said</a>.
To do so, the Trump administration could use a law long weaponized against pro-life protesters to prosecute those who disrupted the church service, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon.
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, signed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, made it a federal crime for pro-life protesters to block the entrances of abortion facilities. Though the law was also meant to protect crisis pregnancy centers and churches, data obtained by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) <a href="https://roy.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-roy-reintroduces-legislation-repeal-face-act">shows</a> that 97% of FACE Act prosecutions through 2024 targeted pro-life individuals. 
While conservatives have long warned that the law has been weaponized against pro-lifers, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anti-ice-activists-storm-minnesota-church-with-don-lemon-doj-launches-probe?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Anti-ICE+Activists+Storm+Minnesota+Church+With+Don+Lemon%3B+DOJ+Launches+Probe">stunt</a> by leftist agitators at the Cities Church in St. Paul creates an opportunity for President Donald Trump’s Justice Department to flip the historical application of FACE on its head. 
The FACE Act penalizes those who “by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.”
That would appear to apply to the storming of Cities Church by a group of activists organized by the Racial Justice Network and Black Lives Matter Twin Cities. The protesters yelled and chanted slogans at worshipers, causing the service to end early. Lemon filmed the demonstration under the guise of an independent journalist and badgered the pastor of the church with questions while the disruption was taking place. 
Ryan Tucker, the director of the Center for Christian Ministries at Alliance Defending Freedom, told The Daily Wire that the religious component of the FACE Act has rarely been used. He noted that historically, local and state law enforcement have stepped in to address FACE Act violations, but no such help appears to be forthcoming in Minnesota. 
“Here in Minnesota, at least the state attorney general has come out and said that he&#8217;s not going to do anything to assist or to pursue any violations of state law,” Tucker said. “What&#8217;s really disheartening here is that you&#8217;ve got the lead lawyer of the state of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, saying that he&#8217;s not going to do anything to prosecute these individuals under those local laws, and in fact, has attempted to validate their actions, completely forgetting that the FACE Act even exists.”
Tucker added that it was very rare for activists to disrupt church services.
“The idea that one could go into a church, disrupt it, threaten the parishioners, and somehow get away with it, which is just absolutely unheard of,” he said. “Churches certainly have the right to worship freely without fear that protesters are going to invade their space and traumatize the families that are present, but that&#8217;s exactly what happened this past weekend.”
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/don-lemon-could-face-criminal-conspiracy-charges-over-involvement-in-minnesota-church-protest?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Don+Lemon+Could+Face+‘Criminal+Conspiracy’+Charges+Over+Involvement+In+Minnesota+Church+Protest">suggested</a> on Monday that the Justice Department would bring FACE Act-related charges against the protesters. 
“I see various crimes that have occurred,” she told podcaster Benny Johnson. “Exactly what they are I’m not going to flag, but the FACE Act has been mentioned as one of the predicates there. In other cases, the Biden DOJ used the Klan Act conspiracy charges tacked onto the FACE Act in the case of protests outside abortion clinics to bring much longer sentences.”
Dhillon was referring to how President Joe Biden’s Justice Department ramped up FACE Act prosecutions, pairing it with the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act to garner lengthy prison sentences for peaceful pro-life advocates who demonstrated at abortion facilities. 
Biden’s Justice Department successfully prosecuted these cases across the country — from Michigan to Tennessee and Washington, D.C. — and got lengthy prison sentences for multiple defendants. 
 Lauren Handy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pro-life-activist-sentenced-to-over-four-years-in-prison-over-protest-at-d-c-abortion-facility">was sentenced</a> to 57 months in prison for her role in an October 20 sit-in at the notorious D.C.-based Washington Surgi-Clinic late-term abortion facility.
In another case, 64-year-old <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pardoned-pro-life-activist-says-hes-running-on-adrenaline-and-the-holy-ghost-after-trump-pardon">Calvin Zastrow</a> and 75-year-old Chet Gallagher were sentenced to prison after they participated in a protest at an abortion facility in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, that involved them praying, singing, and speaking to women arriving at the facility. They were convicted under the FACE Act and the KKK Act for conspiracy against rights, a charge that could come with over 10 years of prison time. 
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/they-should-not-have-been-prosecuted-trump-pardons-23-pro-lifers-targeted-by-biden-doj?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan+and+Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98They+Should+Not+Have+Been+Prosecuted%E2%80%99%3A+Trump+Pardons+23+Pro-Lifers+Targeted+By+Biden+DOJ">pardoned</a> the two dozen peaceful pro-life protesters during his first week in office. 
Dhillon suggested that Lemon might be subject to the KKK Act conspiracy against rights application if it could be proved that he had knowledge of the protest before it took place. 
“Don Lemon himself has come out and said he knew exactly what was going to happen inside that facility,&#8221; she said. &#8220;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.&#8221;
As Lemon questioned a pastor during the disruption on Sunday, he asserted that the activists had a First Amendment right to stage a protest in the church. Tucker was unconvinced with this claim, noting that you can’t make a First Amendment claim while infringing on “someone&#8217;s ability to freely worship.”
Trump on Tuesday <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-minnesota-church-protesters-should-be-jailed-or-thrown-out-of-the-country?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Trump%3A+Minnesota+Church+Protesters+Should+Be+Jailed+Or+%E2%80%98Thrown+Out+Of+The+Country%E2%80%99">called</a> for the agitators who stormed the church to be imprisoned or “thrown out of the country.” His Justice Department appears to be ready to take that action. 
“The FACE Act is just the start. Like I said, you have material support for disruptive activities, you have conspiracy to violate civil rights, you have potentially the use of other instrumentalities to commit crimes,” Dhillon said on Monday. 
The Trump administration has already used the FACE Act to go after left-wing activists who target religious services. In September, the Justice Department <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-lawsuit-under-face-act-against-violent-protestors-synagogue-west">filed charges</a> under FACE against a group of protesters who targeted a Jewish synagogue in New Jersey.
Soon after taking office, Trump’s Justice Department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-doj-rolls-back-bidens-aggressive-prosecution-of-pro-lifers?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+DOJ+Rolls+Back+Biden%E2%80%99s+Aggressive+Prosecution+Of+Pro-Lifers">issued a memo</a> stipulating that FACE Act cases would only be prosecuted in cases of violence or extreme property damage, a reversal of Biden’s policy.

Don Lemon, Nekima Levy-Armstrong

How The Law Weaponized Against Pro-Lifers Could Be Used To Prosecute Anti-ICE Agitators

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

Bill Clinton

Department of Justice

Don Lemon

Donald Trump

FACE Act

Harmeet Dhillon

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Keith Ellison

Minnesota

Pro-Life Movement

Religious Freedom

Arrests are coming soon in the investigation into an anti-ICE mob that crashed a Sunday morning service at Cities Church in St. Paul, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Noem appeared on Newsmax on Tuesday evening and said that arrests would begin “in the next several hours.” The secretary also said that ex-CNN host turned YouTuber Don Lemon could face charges for his involvement in the church protest as well.
“There will be arrests tied to that, and people will be brought to justice for how they violated the law in that situation,” said Noem.
Noem suggested that Lemon’s claim to have only been a bystander and journalist during the incident at Cities Church is belied by the foreknowledge he had of the demonstration and relationships has with activists involved.
“The fact that ahead of time, before this even happened, he said that he had conducted some surveillance before they went into this church, he identified individuals that were going in with him that were activists in the work that they had done in the past, the fact that this entire situation was then posted on the Black Lives Matter website, all of that is something that they&#8217;re going to be responsible for,” said Noem.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Arrests coming.
This weekend an anti-ICE mob targeted a church, emboldened by the reckless rhetoric from Minnesota&#8217;s sanctuary politicians and the media.
The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly – not rioting.
This administration is committed to upholding… <a href="https://t.co/rBlFFiFe7U">pic.twitter.com/rBlFFiFe7U</a>
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem/status/2013754768259153951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, led by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, has led the Trump administration investigation into what took place at Cities Church. Dhillon has been forceful in her denunciations of the activists who stormed the church, as well as in her promises for accountability.
Dhillon <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harmeet-dhillon-doj-weighing-charges-over-literally-illegal-anti-ice-church-protest">told</a> The Daily Wire on Monday that the disruption at the church “clearly” represented a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or the FACE Act, that “criminalizes blocking, interfering with, disrupting a house of worship.”
“The only question really is who they are and what other offenses there may be,” said Dhillon.

Kristi Noem

Kristi Noem Promises Arrests ‘In The Next Several Hours’ Over Church Stormed By Anti-ICE Activists

U.S.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the anti-ICE activists who stormed a Minnesota church on Sunday were professional “troublemakers” who should be incarcerated or &#8220;thrown out of the country.&#8221; 
Trump’s comments come as his Justice Department has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/don-lemon-could-face-criminal-conspiracy-charges-over-involvement-in-minnesota-church-protest?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Don+Lemon+Could+Face+‘Criminal+Conspiracy’+Charges+Over+Involvement+In+Minnesota+Church+Protest">pledged</a> to bring charges against the leftists who entered Cities Church in St. Paul and recited chants like “Justice for Renee Good,” “Hands up, don’t shoot,” and “ICE out of Minnesota.” Former CNN host Don Lemon livestreamed the protest under the guise of being an independent journalist.  
“Just watched footage of the Church Raid in Minnesota by the agitators and insurrectionists. These people are professionals! No person acts the way they act. They are highly trained to scream, rant, and rave, like lunatics, in a certain manner, just like they are doing. They are troublemakers who should be thrown in jail, or thrown out of the Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Tuesday morning. 
The protest was organized and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DToXsEEEVk2/">promoted</a> by the Racial Justice Network and Black Lives Matter Twin Cities. 
Cities Church was targeted because one of its pastors works for ICE. William Kelly, a prominent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/career-activist-who-disrupted-minneapolis-worship-service-also-targeted-hegseths-dc-church?author=Megan+Basham&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Career+Activist+Who+Disrupted+Minneapolis+Worship+Service+Also+Targeted+Hegseth’s+DC+Church">professional protester</a> who has demonstrated outside the church of War Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington, D.C., was among those who entered the sanctuary during the Sunday morning service. 
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said Monday that charges for those involved in the protest are forthcoming. She also suggested that Lemon could face charges if he knowingly participated in a conspiracy against civil rights. 
“I see various crimes that have occurred,” she told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson on Monday. “Exactly what they are I’m not going to flag, but the FACE Act has been mentioned as one of the predicates there. In other cases, the Biden DOJ used the Klan Act conspiracy charges tacked onto the FACE Act in the case of protests outside abortion clinics to bring much longer sentences.”
The FACE Act protects the rights of those attending worship services to be free from disruption.
Dhillon <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harmeet-dhillon-doj-weighing-charges-over-literally-illegal-anti-ice-church-protest?author=Cameron+Arcand&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Harmeet+Dhillon%3A+DOJ+Weighing+Charges+Over+‘Literally+Illegal’+Anti-ICE+Church+Protest">told</a> The Daily Wire that two Justice Department prosecutors traveled to Minnesota on Monday to handle the case. 
“You can have your protest in a park, you can have a march, you can get a permit for a large gathering, but you can’t just go wherever you want and tear things up and disrupt,” she said. “And that’s what these people did. And so now, people are afraid to go to church. And that is an absolute disgrace in this country.”

President Trump Tours Ford Rouge Complex In Michigan

Trump: Minnesota Church Protesters Should Be Jailed Or ‘Thrown Out Of The Country’

The Department of Justice could take major legal action after an anti-ICE protest hijacked a service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday.
United States Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon told The Daily Wire in an interview Monday morning that she’s working closely with Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate for “federal offenses,” including breaking the FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) Act, which Dhillon noted “criminalizes blocking, interfering with, disrupting a house of worship.&#8221; The protest was sparked over one of the pastors&#8217; employment with ICE, according to the Associated Press.
“That&#8217;s exactly what these people did. Clearly. So, the only question really is who they are and what other offenses there may be,” she said, later adding that “we don&#8217;t prejudge a situation, but we&#8217;d like to make the strongest case possible.” During the interview, the DOJ official noted that were two prosecutors flying to Minnesota as of Monday morning to dive into the case.
“I find the silence of the Attorney General of Minnesota, the District Attorney Mary Moriarty of Hennepin County, and the Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz, shocking. They&#8217;re the governor, District Attorney, and Attorney General of these people, too. And where&#8217;s the reassurance to them?” Dhillon asked.
The Daily Wire reached out to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office. Gov. Tim Walz’s office told <a href="https://x.com/MattFinnFNC/status/2013329688458932309?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>, “The Governor has repeatedly and unequivocally urged protesters to do so peacefully. While people have a right to speak out, he in no way supports interrupting a place of worship.”
Dhillon also empathized with churchgoers who may be concerned about protests when attending a service in the coming weeks.
“I feel like I have to give a First Amendment 101 primer to people, including journalists like Don Lemon, because you don&#8217;t have a First Amendment right to trespass and invade a house of worship. It&#8217;s literally illegal to do that. And it&#8217;s not protected by the First Amendment on top of that,” she said. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon live-streamed the protest inside the church, and Dhillon suggested in other interviews on Monday that it could potentially open the door for charges against the liberal commentator.
“And so you can have your protest a safe distance away from a private facility. You can have your protest in a park, you can have a march, you can get a permit for a large gathering, but you can&#8217;t just go wherever you want and tear things up and disrupt. And that&#8217;s what these people did. And so now, people are afraid to go to church. And that is an absolute disgrace in this country,” the assistant attorney general continued.
She also recommended that houses of worship have cameras outside of their buildings to &#8220;be prepared to record what&#8217;s going on and who&#8217;s coming.”
“I would just tell people that they should not be on edge. We believe in the Almighty and this DOJ has the right and the ability to step in and protect where the local authorities won’t,” Dhillon noted.
Anti-ICE protests escalated in the Minneapolis area after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good, a woman who allegedly attempted to hit the officer with her vehicle, as the Department of Homeland Security said the agent suffered from internal bleeding after the incident.

US-IMMIGRATION-ICE-SHOOTING

Harmeet Dhillon: DOJ Weighing Charges Over ‘Literally Illegal’ Anti-ICE Church Protest

Immigration

justice department

Protesters

Religion

A top Justice Department official says former CNN host Don Lemon is on her target list to face federal charges for his involvement in the anti-ICE protest that targeted a church service on Sunday. 
Assistant Attorney for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said multiple crimes were committed during the protest and warned that those involved could be facing lengthy prison sentences. She also suggested that former CNN host Don Lemon could face charges for his involvement. 
While Dhillon did not specify which charges would be brought, she pointed to possible violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act. 
“I see various crimes that have occurred,&#8221; she told podcaster Benny Johnson on Monday. &#8220;Exactly what they are I&#8217;m not going to flag, but the FACE Act has been mentioned as one of the predicates there. In other cases, the Biden DOJ used the Klan Act conspiracy charges tacked onto the FACE Act in the case of protests outside abortion clinics to bring much longer sentences.”
She also suggested that Lemon, who was embedded with the protesters under the guise of an independent journalist, could face criminal charges from his role. 
“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&#8217;s sort of a shield from being a part, an embedded part of a criminal conspiracy, it isn&#8217;t,” she said. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
BREAKING: DOJ Announces Intention to Charge Don Lemon under the Ku Klux Klan Act.
The KKK Act makes it illegal to threaten, hurt, or intimidate people to prevent them from exercising their God-given rights.
HARMEET DHILLON: &#8220;The Klan Act is one of the most important federal… <a href="https://t.co/GWnXAMtWc9">pic.twitter.com/GWnXAMtWc9</a>
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/2013283898935882195?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Both statutes <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-house-moves-to-repeal-face-act-after-years-of-weaponization">were previously used</a> by the Biden administration to go after peaceful pro-life protesters who demonstrated outside abortion facilities. While the FACE Act guarantees entry to abortion facilities, it can also be used to bring charges against those who intentionally interfere with people attempting to exercise their religious liberty at a place of worship. The KKK Act makes it a crime to conspire to suppress a person’s civil rights and can be punished with more than a decade in prison and hefty fines. 
“The FACE Act is just the start.  Like I said, you have material support for disruptive activities, you have conspiracy to violate civil rights, you have potentially the use of other instrumentalities to commit crimes,” Dhillon said. 
Dhillon said the Justice Department is still gathering facts and getting its “ducks in a row” before filing charges. 
“Come next Sunday, nobody should think in the United States that they&#8217;re going to be able to get away with this. Everyone in the protest community needs to know that the fullest force of the federal government is going to come down and prevent this from happening and put people away for a long, long time,” she added. 
The church was targeted because one of the pastors on staff reportedly works for a local ICE field office. Protesters entered the sanctuary and screamed at worshipers, disrupting the service.

Don Lemon Could Face ‘Criminal Conspiracy’ Charges Over Involvement In Minnesota Church Protest

The Department of Justice is investigating after a group of activists and ex-CNN host Don Lemon disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday.
Dozens of protesters crowded into Cities Church in St. Paul on Sunday as part of a “clandestine operation” to “disrupt business as usual,” activist leader Nekima Levy-Armstrong told Lemon, who embedded with the protest group. The protest lasted roughly 30 minutes and effectively ended the church service as it drove congregants out.
Lemon interviewed Levy-Armstrong ahead of &#8220;Operation Pullup,&#8221; as the protest was called, and followed agitators to Cities Church, conducting interviews, and, at times, arguing with members of the church and defending the “free speech” of the protesters, comparing the church invasion to the civil rights movement.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Agitators aren’t just targeting our officers. Now they’re targeting churches, too.
They&#8217;re going from hotel to hotel, church to church, hunting for federal law enforcement who are risking their lives to protect Americans.
Tim Walz and Jacob Frey are responsible for whipping… <a href="https://t.co/O3WQ6Iftfe">https://t.co/O3WQ6Iftfe</a>
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/ICEgov/status/2013011485476208754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Clips from Lemon’s coverage of the protest spread on social media and drew the attention of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the Department of Justice&#8217;s Civil Rights Division.
“The [Civil Rights Division] is investigating the potential violations of the federal FACE Act by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers,” Dhillon said in a <a href="https://x.com/aagdhillon/status/2013003168179724426">post</a> on X.
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, “prohibits the use or threat of force and physical obstruction that injures, intimidates, or interferes with a person seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services or to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship,” according to the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/freedom-access-clinic-entrances-places-religious-worship">Justice Department</a>.
Dhillon later suggested that Lemon is a target of the investigation as well, and could be prosecuted for his role in the protest.
“A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest! It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws! Nor does the First Amendment protect your pseudo journalism of disrupting a prayer service. You are on notice!” Dhillon <a href="https://x.com/AAGDhillon/status/2013044166062936417">said</a>.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also responded to the incident on X:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
President Trump will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of Christians in their sacred places of worship.
The Department of Justice has launched a full investigation into the despicable incident that took place earlier today at a church in Minnesota.
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/2013075971348332554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The protest was organized and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DToXsEEEVk2/">promoted</a> by the Racial Justice Network and Black Lives Matter Minnesota. Cities Church was targeted by the activists because, Levy-Armstrong claimed, one of its pastors works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“They cannot pretend to be a house of God while harboring someone who is directing ICE agents to wreak havoc upon our community,” Levy-Armstrong told Lemon. “I am a reverend on top of being a lawyer and an activist, so I come here in the power of the almighty God for righteousness, truth, and justice.”
On Lemon’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4ctuhv-cck">stream</a> of the protest, Levy-Armstrong led dozens of protesters into the church during services, crowding the aisle and chanting slogans such as “justice for Renee Good,” “hands up, don’t shoot,” and “ICE out of Minnesota.” As protesters chanted, Lemon monologued about the importance of the First Amendment, speaking out against perceived injustice, and the meaning of protesting.
“This is the beginning of what’s going to happen here. When you violate people’s due process, when you pull people off the street, you start dragging them and hurting them and not abiding by the Constitution – when you start doing all of that, people get upset and angry,” Lemon said as protesters shouted at the assembled church-goers waiting for the chaos to end.
Lemon compared the protest to the civil rights movement and asserted that the protesters’ actions were protected under the Constitution.
“There is nothing in the Constitution that tells you what time you can protest. You can protest at any time. That’s the whole point of it, to disrupt, to make uncomfortable. And that’s what they&#8217;re doing,” Lemon said. “When you see how uncomfortable people, uncomfortably and harsh people are being treated on the streets, you have to be willing to go into places and disrupt and make people uncomfortable. That is what this country is about.”
Lemon at one point notes a “young man” in the corner of the church who Lemon says is “scared” and “crying.” The former CNN host turned YouTuber later states, “It’s uncomfortable and traumatic for the people here … but that’s what protesting is about.”
At one point during the protest, Lemon spoke to the church’s lead pastor, Jonathan Parnell. Parnell was not the pastor accused by protesters of working for ICE.
“It’s shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship,” Parnell told Lemon.
Lemon challenged the pastor, asserting that the Constitution and First Amendment protect the “freedom of speech and freedom to assemble and protest.”
“We are here to worship. We are here to worship Jesus because that is the hope of these cities, that’s the hope of the world is Jesus Christ, okay?” Parnell responded before leaving the interview soon after.

Anti-ICE Activists Storm Minnesota Church With Don Lemon; DOJ Launches Probe

WASHINGTON—The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division says there is no merit to an MS Now report alleging that top DOJ officials quit their jobs over an alleged division decision not to investigate the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Good.
The report from the outlet formerly known as MSNBC alleged that at least four officials from the Civil Rights Division resigned &#8220;in protest over the administration’s handling&#8221; of Good&#8217;s death, citing &#8220;three people briefed on the departures.&#8221;
MS Now reported that their frustration was specifically with Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon for her decision not to investigate the incident, writing that the departures &#8220;represent the most significant mass resignation at the Justice Department since February.&#8221;
There&#8217;s a problem with this reporting, however: according to Dhillon and her staff, there has not been a single resignation over the incident.
&#8220;This is fake news,&#8221; Dhillon told The Daily Wire of the story. &#8220;No division employee quit.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1027245" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justice-department-shuts-down-fake-news-report-alleging-mass-resignation-over-ice-incident/justice-department-holds-press-conference-on-complaint-filed-under-face-act-3" rel="attachment wp-att-1027245"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1027245" class="wp-image-1027245 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2237754057-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2237754057-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2237754057-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2237754057-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2237754057.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)</div>
Three people applied for early retirement the day before the shooting, which occurred on January 7 in Minneapolis, Dhillon said. Those three people gave notice weeks before the shooting took place, and the fourth person mentioned in the story put in for retirement in early December, over a month before the shooting took place.
Two of the other people that the MS Now story references have not resigned and are currently at their desks working, The Daily Wire has learned. While they have &#8220;apparently told the press they intend to resign,&#8221; Dhillon said, &#8220;our office has not received notice of any resignations.&#8221;
&#8220;The media&#8217;s never-ending attempts to drum up drama and strife within the DOJ are exhausting,&#8221; Dhillon said. &#8220;My team and I will not let it distract us from our mission of protecting the civil rights of ALL Americans. We thank those employees retiring for their years of service to the Department and our nation.&#8221;
The FBI is investigating the January 7 incident, the ICE agent&#8217;s actions, and the networks of activist groups funding anti-ICE protesting as well as Good&#8217;s possible connections to such networks in Minnesota, a law enforcement source confirmed to The Daily Wire.
As for a possible DOJ Civil Rights Division investigation, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says &#8220;there is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation.” A DOJ official told The Daily Wire that ICE&#8217;s Office of Professional Responsibility is conducting its own investigation.
“As with any officer-involved shooting, each law enforcement agency has an internal investigation protocol, including DHS,&#8221; the DOJ official shared. &#8220;As such, ICE OPR has its own investigation underway. This runs parallel to any FBI investigation.”
Video footage from that day shows Good hitting an ICE agent with her car, whereupon he exclaims as he fires at her, fatally shooting her in her car. President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration has vehemently argued that the act was one of domestic terrorism against the ICE agent, who was previously dragged by a car as he attempted to carry out his orders.
MS Now did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire.

National-Conservative-Convention-in-Washington

Justice Department Shuts Down ‘Fake News’ Report Alleging ‘Mass Resignation’ Over ICE Incident

DOJ Shuts Down 'Fake News' Report Alleging 'Mass Resignation' Over ICE Incident

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/2005984028349129011">announced</a> Monday that the Department of Justice had launched 23 lawsuits against 22 states that have not complied with federal voter roll verification requirements.
In mid-September, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-oregon-and-maine-failure-provide-voter-registration-rolls">sued</a> the states of Oregon and Maine and their respective Secretaries of State for failing to provide information on voter list maintenance procedures and electronic copies of statewide voter registration lists. “States simply cannot pick and choose which federal laws they will comply with, including our voting laws, which ensure that all American citizens have equal access to the ballot in federal elections,” Dhillon said.
“American citizens have a right to feel confident in the integrity of our electoral process,” Dhillon said, “and the refusal of certain states to protect their citizens against vote dilution will result in legal consequences.” Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows <a href="https://www.themainewire.com/2025/09/shenna-bellows-responds-to-dojs-lawsuit-over-her-refusal-to-turn-over-election-data/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">responded</a> to the lawsuit by declaring, “Go jump in the Gulf of Maine.”
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In late September, the Trump administration filed a lawsuit against six more states after the DOJ accused them of failing to comply with federal law by refusing to turn over voter registration records. The states included California, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, and Pennsylvania.
“A few months ago I started this process of requesting the voter rolls from all the states and territories in the United States and asked them to share them with us so that we can help these states compare voter rolls against our government data and clean their voter rolls as the requirement states under federal law the Help America Vote Act, amongst others,” Dhillon stated on The Charlie Kirk Show on Monday.
“So there’s a lot of hemming and hawing, including from red states, a lot of back-and-forth, and then some outright refusal to cooperate from many states; and so I am proud to report that today I’m in litigation with twenty-two states in the United States; that’s actually twenty-three lawsuits, since California has two lawsuits,” she continued. “I also have voluntary compliance from thirteen states, including Texas and several others. And even on Christmas Eve, I had secretaries of state uploading their data to the DOJ so that we could do our work on it and help them clean their voter rolls.”

Justice Department Holds Press Conference On Complaint Filed Under FACE Act

DOJ Sues 22 States To Force Voter Roll Checks

Voting

The Justice Department will no longer pursue civil rights lawsuits based on “disparate impact theory,” the Trump administration announced Tuesday.
The move comes after 50 years of government policy that encouraged lawsuits against “race neutral” policies without showing evidence of actual racial discrimination, the department <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-rule-restores-equal-protection-all-civil-rights-enforcement">said</a>. Disparate impact theory is a framework that often assumes discrimination when there are different outcomes for different groups of people, even if there is no explicit discriminatory practice in place.
“For decades, the Justice Department has used disparate-impact liability to undermine the constitutional principle that all Americans must be treated equally under the law,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “No longer. This Department of Justice is eliminating its regulations that for far too long required recipients of federal funding to make decisions based on race.”
The Justice Department issued a rule removing disparate impact from consideration under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI prevents entities that discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, and national origin from receiving federal money or support.
“The prior ‘disparate impact’ regulations encouraged people to file lawsuits challenging racially neutral policies, without evidence of intentional discrimination,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Our rejection of this theory will restore true equality under the law by requiring proof of actual discrimination, rather than enforcing race- or sex-based quotas or assumptions.”
The change comes after President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-takes-sledgehammer-to-dei-in-latest-round-of-executive-orders-targeting-education">signed</a> an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/restoring-equality-of-opportunity-and-meritocracy/">executive order</a> in April that directed the federal government to stop using disparate impact theory in government policy and regulations. The order defined disparate impact theory as the “presumption” that “unlawful discrimination exists where there are any differences in outcomes in certain circumstances among different races, sexes, or similar groups, even if there is no facially discriminatory policy or practice or discriminatory intent involved, and even if everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.”
Trump said that this theory undermines America’s values of meritocracy and a colorblind society while also violating the Constitution.
“It is the policy of the United States to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in all contexts to the maximum degree possible to avoid violating the Constitution, Federal civil rights laws, and basic American ideals,” Trump wrote.
Last year, President Joe Biden’s Justice Department was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/case-document/notice-injunction-louisiana-v-epa-wd-la">blocked</a> from enforcing disparate impact claims against Louisiana.

Justice Department Ends Policy That Promoted Dubious Racial Discrimination Suits

Civil Rights

Executive

Pam Bondi

Politics

Racial Discrimination

Trump Administration

The Trump administration on Tuesday took action against six blue states that it says have failed to comply with requests to produce their voter rolls. 
The Justice Department <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-six-additional-states-failure-provide-voter-registration-rolls">announced</a> suits against Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington for not producing statewide registration lists. Without these lists, the Justice Department said that they cannot certify that the states are maintaining an accurate count of eligible voters. 
&#8220;Accurate voter rolls are the cornerstone of fair and free elections, and too many states have fallen into a pattern of noncompliance with basic voter roll maintenance,&#8221; said Attorney General Pam Bondi. &#8220;The Department of Justice will continue filing proactive election integrity litigation until states comply with basic election safeguards.&#8221;
The suits come amid a push from Republicans nationwide to crack down on non-citizen voting and maintain clean voter registration lists.
The lawsuits say that the states are not acting in accordance with the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act, which compel states to maintain accurate voter lists. The attorney general is empowered to enforce those laws and has a right to access the lists under the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the suits say.
&#8220;States that continue to defy federal voting laws interfere with our mission of ensuring that Americans have accurate voter lists as they go to the polls, that every vote counts equally, and that all voters have confidence in election results. At this Department of Justice, we will not stand for this open defiance of federal civil rights laws,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon.
The <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1419811/dl?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery">lawsuit</a> against Rhode Island says that on September 16 Rhode Island sent a letter to the Justice Department refusing a September 8 request for voter roll information. The letter said that the states “objects to providing” the requested information, according to the suit. This requested information includes driver license information and the last four digits of Social Security numbers used to register for voting. 
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Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha claimed the suit was an example of Trump weaponizing the Justice Department. 
“We stand with and will defend the secretary, and win, because lawsuits concerning lawful conduct are largely unsuccessful,” he said. “But I’m not surprised that this administration is confused about what it means to behave lawfully.”
In September, the Justice Department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justice-dept-sues-six-states-for-refusing-to-hand-over-key-voter-data">announced</a> suits against Michigan, California, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Minnesota, and New York over the same issue.

Justice Department Announces Federal Enforcement Action Against International Criminal Organization

Justice Department Moves To Safeguard Elections In Blue States

Delaware

Election Fraud

Maryland

New Mexico

Rhode Island

Vermont

Washington

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon stated that the Department of Justice will not tolerate mob intimidation or obstruction targeting houses of worship, following an incident in Manhattan in which a pro-Palestinian crowd surrounded Park East Synagogue. In a Friday post on X, Dhillon emphasized that blocking access to a house of worship is a federal crime, adding that the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, under Attorney General Pam Bondi, was gathering information about the event.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
It’s a federal crime to block access to a house of worship in the US. <a href="https://twitter.com/CivilRights?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CivilRights</a> under <a href="https://twitter.com/AGPamBondi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AGPamBondi</a> will NOT tolerate it and we are gathering information about this incident! <a href="https://t.co/cBnAHCq986">https://t.co/cBnAHCq986</a>
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) <a href="https://twitter.com/AAGDhillon/status/1991795334855713078?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
On Sunday, she confirmed that a federal investigation was underway, reiterating that the Department maintains zero tolerance for violence or obstruction near any religious institution.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Investigation is underway. <a href="https://twitter.com/TheJusticeDept?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheJusticeDept</a> has zero tolerance for violence/obstruction around any American house of worship. <a href="https://t.co/rEEFAifj6n">https://t.co/rEEFAifj6n</a>
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) <a href="https://twitter.com/AAGDhillon/status/1992580560074723491?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The confrontation occurred when Park East Synagogue, led by 95-year-old Holocaust survivor Rabbi Arthur Schneier, hosted a legal informational event organized by Nefesh B’Nefesh, a group that assists Jews in immigrating to Israel. Protesters surrounded the building, reportedly blocking entry and shouting phrases including “Death to the IDF” and “Globalize the Intifada,” along with other hostile and antisemitic slogans.
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“Another woman shouted, ‘F***ing Jewish pricks,’ while others called the Jewish demonstrators ‘rapists,’ ‘racists,’ and ‘pedophiles,’” The Times of Israel <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/anti-zionist-protesters-chant-death-to-the-idf-at-new-york-city-synagogue/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Instead of focusing on the mob’s actions, New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s press secretary issued a statement saying he discouraged the protesters’ language, but also suggested the synagogue was promoting activities “in violation of international law.” When asked to clarify, his office argued that facilitating Jewish immigration to Israel constitutes support for “settlement activity beyond the Green Line.”
<div>
In contrast, Mayor Eric Adams condemned the protesters’ actions directly, calling the mob “sick and warped.”
</div>

DOJ Launches Investigation After Pro-Palestinian Mob Targets NYC Synagogue

Crime

Manhattan

Pro-Palestinian

Synagogue

Zohran Mamdani

The government shutdown is over, the Justice Department investigates riots surrounding a Turning Point USA event, and a standoff brews in the Caribbean between Venezuela and the United States.
It’s Thursday, November 13, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251113">the video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trump-ends-shutdown-venezuela-mobilizes-troops-11-13-25/id1576594336?i=1000736567005" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Shutdown Comes To A Close</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000149" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Marathon-Shutdown-Ends-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Marathon-Shutdown-Ends-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Marathon-Shutdown-Ends-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Marathon-Shutdown-Ends-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Marathon-Shutdown-Ends-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Marathon-Shutdown-Ends.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The government shutdown finally came to a close on Wednesday, with President Donald Trump signing legislation to reopen the government.
The House voted on legislation to fund the government through the end of January. The vote came after eight Senate Democrats sided with Republicans earlier this week to break the filibuster and push through a continuing resolution to fund the federal government.
After more than 40 days, the shutdown’s impacts hit all across the country. From air travel to food stamps, Americans felt it.
What comes next:  The debate will quickly shift to healthcare and Obamacare subsidies, which the Democrats used as a rhetorical tool to prevent funding the government for the past 40 days. When they voted to reopen the government over the weekend, part of the deal was to bring that debate back to the Senate in December.
On the House side, Democrats such as Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have proposed extending those subsidies for three years. But with Republicans in the majority, the calculus is different, and there is a lot unknown about the continuation of those subsidies.
The argument from many Republicans and opponents of the renewed subsidies for the Affordable Care Act is that the program was never sustainable to begin with.
Shutdown drama continued:  Republicans are very pleased with the outcome, but many Democrats, aside from those few who voted to reopen the government, are not. 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Berkeley Riot</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000153" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DOJ-Probes-TPUSA-Riot-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/DOJ-Probes-TPUSA-Riot-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/DOJ-Probes-TPUSA-Riot-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/DOJ-Probes-TPUSA-Riot-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/DOJ-Probes-TPUSA-Riot-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/DOJ-Probes-TPUSA-Riot.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The DOJ is investigating a protest outside of a Turning Point USA event at UC Berkeley this week.
TPUSA has gotten more attention than ever over the last two months since Charlie Kirk, the group’s founder, was assassinated. In the wake of that tragedy, rather than pull back, the conservative activist group has gone all in.
While a number of its events have faced significant protest, thanks to increased security, most have been peaceful. But during the final stop of the Turning Point tour this week at Cal Berkeley, a protest turned violent. In the hours leading up to the event, hundreds of black-clad protesters <a href="https://x.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1988056273716474048?s=20">descended</a> on the venue, hurling insults and threats at conservative students attending the event, and mocking Kirk’s murder.
Other chants included, “When fascists come and cause a wreck, they get a bullet in the neck.” At one point, a group of protesters attempted to rob a man of his necklace and proceeded to beat him when he attempted to stop them. As the victim, who was briefly detained by police himself, stands up, dripping blood from his face, some in the crowd begin to taunt him, <a href="https://x.com/FrontlinesTPUSA/status/1988051012050186316?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying,</a> “white boy, you’re bleeding.”
Turning Point staffers say rioters set off smoke bombs and tear gas outside the venue, and hurled fireworks and glass bottles at those trying to get in, including parents carrying small children. And then, as the event ended, large groups of rioters blocked exits and hurled threats at those leaving. 
DOJ steps in: Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday that the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force will &#8220;spare no expense unmasking all who commit and orchestrate acts of political violence” and seeking out the identities of specific agitators. Bondi <a href="https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/1988339354754769099">added</a>, &#8220;Antifa is an existential threat to our nation.&#8221; The Justice Department also sent a letter to the University of California Board of Regents, notifying them that an investigation had been opened into their handling of the riot, ordering them to preserve all internal records regarding security preparations. 
“ There was a sold out crowd of over 2,000 tickets for this event with Rob Schneider, the comedian, and in fact, only a thousand people were allowed to enter,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/AAGDhillon/status/1988582068776026127?s=20">said</a> the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, Harmeet Dhillon. &#8220;There were shenanigans with the ticketing, but a lot of people didn&#8217;t come because of what we call the ‘heckler&#8217;s veto,’ the violent mob allowed to fester outside.” 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Fracas In Caracas</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000145" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Will-Venezuela-Blink-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Will-Venezuela-Blink-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Will-Venezuela-Blink-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Will-Venezuela-Blink-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Will-Venezuela-Blink-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Will-Venezuela-Blink.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: Venezuela says it’s launched a “massive mobilization” of its armed forces – as the United States’ largest aircraft carrier arrives in the region.
Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s defense minister, Vladimir Padrino López, on Tuesday <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maduro-orders-massive-military-mobilization-as-u-s-carrier-group-nears-venezuela">announced</a> a military buildup to counter what he called the “imperialist threat” from the United States. That buildup included military exercises on Wednesday that reportedly <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/venezuela-military-mobilization-us-navy-flotilla-nears-caribbean-uss-ford/">involved</a> around 200,000 troops. Reports say that the military has prepped anti-aircraft systems across Venezuela in case Trump decides to order land strikes, as he has hinted at a few times.
State of play: The United States’ largest and most advanced warship, the USS Gerald R. Ford, has finally arrived in the region, military officials said on Tuesday.
But diplomatic relations between Caracas and Washington have broken down, and it is unclear whether they have since rebounded.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/world/americas/maduro-venezuela-us-oil.html">reported</a> last month that diplomacy between the two sides is basically broken. It broke over Maduro’s refusal to vacate leadership.
Caracas had offered the United States a majority stake in its oil and other mineral wealth. Part of the agreement would have been that Caracas would distance itself from powers hostile to the United States – namely, China, Iran, and Russia. But the United States walked away.
Invasion?: Many have made comparisons between the military buildup in the Caribbean Sea and the lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989. There remain some stark differences, however. Venezuela is much larger than Panama, has a larger military, and Maduro is protected by special forces from Cuba, and Moscow has promised to help Venezuela in the event of an invasion.
Also, in 1989, the United States went into Panama to oust dictator Gen. Manuel Noriega with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/us/politics/panama-noriega-maduro.html">roughly</a> 27,000 troops. With the addition of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the United States still has only <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/11/americas/venezuela-military-mobilization-us-buildup-intl-latam#:~:text=Maduro%20has%20also%20claimed%20that,CNN's%20Haley%20Britzky%20contributed.">around</a> 15,000 troops in the Caribbean Sea.

MRN_251113_V1

Morning Brief: The Swamp Reopens, Berkeley Riot On FBI’s Terror Radar, & The Fracas In Caracas

Morning Brief: Govt Shutdown Ends, DOJ Probes Berkeley, And Venezuela Calls Up Troops

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