The Trump administration will probe whether Major League Baseball is discriminating against Christian players who pushed back against “Pride” month messaging.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon told MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on Thursday that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will investigate the league for religious discrimination. The notification came after the league warned several players who wrote Bible verses on the “Pride” caps they were issued for a game. 
“The Civil Rights Act prohibits MLB and its franchises from unreasonably burdening the rights of players with religious objections to serving as the League&#8217;s vehicle for pro-Pride messages,” Dhillon <a href="https://x.com/AAGDhillon/status/2067709644185759938">wrote</a> in a letter to Manfred.
Dhillon suggested that she did not buy the MLB’s claims that they only warned the players because of a policy against writing on uniform equipment.  
“Yet, MLB has allowed players to wear uniform patches reading ‘Black Lives Matter.’ This double standard — under which players may not inscribe Bible verses on hats for one game only but may wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ patches for one game only — calls MLB&#8217;s true motives into question and raises serious concerns about MLB&#8217;s compliance with Title VII,” Dhillon wrote. 
“The Trump Administration is committed to combatting religious discrimination,” Dhillon added. “The Department of Justice will use all available means to hold employers accountable for violating the religious rights of their employees.”
The controversy started last week when San Francisco Giants starting pitcher <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/giants-pitcher-refuses-to-hide-christian-faith-during-pride-night">Landen Roupp</a> wrote a Bible passage found in Genesis onto his cap, right next to the LGBT-themed rainbow logo he was directed to wear. Fellow players JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker also added Bible verses to their caps. 
MLB’s Chief Communications Officer Pat Courtney told The Athletic on Monday that these players have been “warned” about “future violations.” He said that writing on the team’s baseball caps “violates our rules.”
Those warnings spurred backlash from elected officials who argued the MLB was targeting Christians. 
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) sent a letter to Manfred asking him to provide further detail about the league’s policies. 
“The freedom to live out one’s faith does not end at the ballpark gate. Americans of every creed are entitled to confidence that the institutions of our national pastime will not single out religious expression for punishment while celebrating messages of the league’s own choosing,” he said. 
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said that the MLB should expect to be hearing from his office “soon.”

Los Angeles Dodgers v. San Francisco Giants

Trump Admin Takes On MLB Over ‘Pride’ Hat Controversy

Christianity

Department of Justice

Harmeet Dhillon

Religious Liberty

Sports

Trump Administration

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will promote Harmeet Dhillon to one of the top slots in the Department of Justice, The Daily Wire can first report, a next step in the shake-up that began with the ousting of Pam Bondi as attorney general.
The president plans to nominate Dhillon to be associate attorney general, a move up from her position as the head of the DOJ&#8217;s Civil Rights Division, a source familiar said on Saturday evening. Stanley Woodward, who held the leadership position, resigned from the department earlier on Saturday, the source said.
The move marks a major move up the Justice Department ranks for Dhillon, who was sworn in as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division in April 2025.
The news comes amid reshuffling of top DOJ officials following the president&#8217;s decision to remove Bondi. Trump met Bondi before his Wednesday evening speech and told her that she was being replaced, The Daily Wire reported earlier this week.
Todd Blanche is serving as the acting attorney general, and could remain in that role for quite some time, a source familiar with the president&#8217;s thinking shared on Saturday, noting that the president has no plans to nominate anyone else right at this time.
Trump has been said to be ruminating over appointing Lee Zeldin to the role, and conservatives close to the president have floated the likes of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, and Dhillon herself.
<div id="attachment_1072435" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-donald-trump-to-promote-harmeet-dhillon-to-high-profile-doj-position/president-trump-swears-in-dhs-secretary-mullin" rel="attachment wp-att-1072435"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1072435" class="wp-image-1072435 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2267723046-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2267723046-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2267723046-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2267723046-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2267723046.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Pam Bondi, US attorney general, during a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
The president made the decision to remove Bondi in part because he was frustrated with the lack of criminal prosecutions of Democrats who committed lawfare against him, a second federal source shared.
Another federal source familiar with the Bondi firing pushed back on this characterization, telling The Daily Wire: &#8220;Attorney General Bondi’s outside enemies knew that she had no lack of zeal or skill in prosecuting cases of weaponization. They just stood to benefit from a changing of the guard.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire.
Prior to the time at the Justice Department, Dhillon made a name for herself in the conservative movement through her work at her legal firm, Dhillon Law Group, where she represented Americans like pro-life undercover journalist David Daleiden and detransitioner Chloe Cole in free speech and civil rights cases. She was also a major force in Republican  campaign and election law.
&#8220;Among her many notable cases, Ms. Dhillon brought legal challenges against the University of California, Berkeley over its free speech policy, against an Antifa organization for an assault on a conservative journalist, against several states for their restrictive responses to Covid-19, and against various large tech companies for a host of civil rights issues,&#8221; her DOJ bio states.

National-Conservative-Convention-in-Washington

EXCLUSIVE: Donald Trump To Promote Harmeet Dhillon To High-Profile DOJ Position

Donald Trump

Pam Bondi

Leftist activists are once again suffering a collective meltdown — this time over the &#8220;shattering of norms&#8221; supposedly caused by President Donald Trump’s decision to attend oral arguments at the Supreme Court, an argument decimated by Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon.
As the High Court prepared to hear Trump v. Barbara on Wednesday, critics in the media rushed to their keyboards to decry the move as an affront to the &#8220;separation of powers.&#8221;
Kathryn Watson of CBS News led the charge, breathlessly reporting that no sitting president on record has ever attended oral arguments, and citing an argument that Trump’s attendance was a break with longstanding norms.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
If President Trump attends the Supreme Court&#39;s oral arguments tomorrow on his birthright citizenship executive order like he says he will, he would be the first sitting president on record to do so. Presidents have avoided attendance in part to honor the separation of powers.
&mdash; Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) <a href="https://twitter.com/kathrynw5/status/2039106201904951366?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
She was joined by MeidasTouch Network’s Ron Filipkowski and Scott MacFarlane, who wailed about the &#8220;shattering of political norms&#8221; and the supposed threat to judicial independence.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
No sitting president has ever appeared before the Supreme Court during oral arguments in the history of the United States. <a href="https://t.co/x5lHtXd2eF">pic.twitter.com/x5lHtXd2eF</a>
&mdash; Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/2039117413086630362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Another shattering of political norms…. which have been maintained to amplify the independence of courts and the separation of powers <a href="https://t.co/di9tbqMWDo">https://t.co/di9tbqMWDo</a>
&mdash; Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/MacFarlaneNews/status/2039118248273207561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
But while leftists were appalled by Trump&#8217;s presence, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon was busy setting the record straight, firing back at the notion that Trump’s presence was a constitutional crisis.
“There’s literally a chair set up at SCOTUS for our presidents to sit in for oral argument,” Dhillon <a href="https://x.com/AAGDhillon/status/2039129288302076012">noted</a>. “Your separation of powers nonsense is more imitation pearl-clutching hauteur.”
Historical records support Dhillon&#8217;s point. As the National Register of Historic Places Inventory — maintained by the Department of the Interior — plainly <a href="https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/5134b8c9-c3cc-4ea5-9eb9-9cb41dbba486">states</a>, “The red benches on the right are reserved for guests of the Justices. The black chairs in front of those benches are for the officers of the Court, visiting dignitaries, and include a special chair for the President of the United States &#8230;”
The case at hand, Trump v. Barbara, is perhaps the most significant constitutional showdown of the century. At issue is President Trump’s January 2025 Executive Order seeking to end the perversion of the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued before the Court that &#8220;subject to the jurisdiction thereof&#8221; requires political allegiance, not merely physical presence. The administration is seeking to ensure that citizenship is not something handed out to the children of those who have no legal right to be in the country — a move that would impact an estimated 250,000 births per year.
The media’s hysteria isn&#8217;t about the law; it’s about their desperate need to frame every Trump action as a &#8220;threat to democracy.&#8221; Dhillon’s intervention served as a necessary reminder that the president has every right to witness the defense of his policies in the very chair built for him.
The only thing truly &#8220;shattered&#8221; today was the credibility of the journalists who don&#8217;t even know the layout of the buildings they cover.

Harmeet Dhillon greets President Trump after he arrives aboard Air Force One at Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View, Calif. to attend a Republican Party fundraiser at an undisclosed location on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019.

Dhillon Shreds Leftist Media ‘Pearl-Clutching’ Over Trump’s Historic Supreme Court Appearance

birthright citizenship

Supreme Court

The Justice Department launched a probe Thursday into multiple women’s prisons across California and Maine, where transgender-identifying men have been accused of rape and making other sexual advances toward female inmates. 
The investigation from the Justice Department will look at whether the states violated the constitutional rights of the imprisoned women with their policies of allowing men to be placed in women&#8217;s prisons. One of the prisons under scrutiny is the Central California Women’s Facility in Madera County, where a man who served time at the facility was charged with raping a female inmate. 
“Keeping men out of women’s prisons is not only common sense – it’s a matter of safety and constitutional rights,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “The Trump Administration will not stand by if governors are facilitating the abuse of biological women under the guise of inclusion.”
At the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, a 27-year-old man named Andrew Balcer, <a href="https://apps1.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/correctionssearch/detail.pl?mdoc_number1=156589">serving</a> 40 years for murdering his parents, is currently housed at the women’s unit. State <a href="https://apps1.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/correctionssearch/detail.pl?mdoc_number1=156589">records</a> list him as “female” and standing 6’1’’ tall and 310 pounds. The man has been accused of forcibly kissing incarcerated women and offering to impregnate them, <a href="https://www.sunjournal.com/2026/03/04/women-say-they-are-being-harassed-by-transgender-inmate-at-maine-prison/">according</a> to the Sun Journal. 
<div id="attachment_1067567" style="width: 431px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1067567" class="wp-image-1067567 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-9.52.34-AM-421x576.png" alt="" width="421" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-9.52.34-AM-421x576.png 421w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-9.52.34-AM-219x300.png 219w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-9.52.34-AM.png 578w" sizes=" (max-width: 421px) 100vw, 421px" />Maine Government.</div>
In a case out of Madera County, California, a 53-year-old man named Tremaine Carroll was charged with rape after he was placed at the Central California Women’s Facility. A fellow inmate was found to be pregnant, and two other women also accused him of rape.
&#8220;After his first cellmate became pregnant and was moved to Los Angeles, two other cellmates of his had complained that he had raped them, so we have filed rape charges against this inmate,&#8221; <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/post/pronoun-use-center-rape-case-involving-former-chowchilla-central-california-womens-facility-prisoner-tremaine-carroll/15696730/">said</a> District Attorney Sally Moreno in December 2024.
The case is still working its way through the court system, but court officials have mandated that female pronouns be used for Carroll. Court records indicate that Tremaine has had a number of different lawyers and is in the process of getting a new lawyer appointed by the county from an outside legal firm.  
Thanks to a law sponsored by far-Left state Senator Scott Wiener and <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB132">signed</a> by Governor Gavin Newsom, at least 45 males who identify as transgender have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-dems-vote-to-keep-male-sex-offenders-in-female-prisons">transferred</a> into female prisons since the law was implemented in September 2020. Last year, state Democrats rejected a proposal to keep male sex criminals out of female prisons. 
“California’s Transgender Respect, Agency, and Dignity Act has provided none of these qualities to the female inmates of state prisons who have been forced to share space with biological men who are violent felons,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California. “Our Constitution protects women from having their civil rights violated by harmful state legislation wrapped in the language of ‘equity’ and ‘progress.’”
The California Institution for Women in San Bernardino County is also being scrutinized.  
&#8220;Despite the Department of Justice&#8217;s claims, this is yet another politically motivated, predetermined investigation designed to target states that stand up to the Trump Administration and its abuses,&#8221; <a href="https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/justice-department-investigates-prison-housing-policies-maine-california/97-f2623a63-f421-4c62-a899-17b138fb2d8b">said</a> Democratic Maine Governor Janet Mills. 
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said her office will ensure that women are protected from male inmates. 
“Under my leadership, the Civil Rights Division will not allow women incarcerated in jails or prisons to be subject to unconstitutional risks of harm from male inmates,” she said. “These investigations will uncover whether the dangerous national trend of housing men in women’s prisons has resulted in violations of women’s constitutional rights.”

MixCollage-27-Mar-2026-10-32-AM-6603

DOJ Demands Answers After Women Housed With Hulking Transgender Murderer

DOJ Takes Action As Female Prisoners Housed With Transgender Murderer

California

Maine

Transgender

In a move that surprises absolutely no one familiar with his performative antics, California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom took to social media this week to take a victory lap for a race he arguably lost.
The battleground was a federal courtroom in Los Angeles, where Senior U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder — a Clinton appointee, no less — delivered a split decision on Monday regarding California’s blatant attempt to hamstring federal immigration enforcement. At the heart of the conflict were two pieces of legislation: the &#8220;No Secret Police Act,&#8221; which sought to ban ICE agents from wearing masks, and the &#8220;No Vigilantes Act,&#8221; which mandates visible identification.
Newsom, ever the master of the &#8220;alternative win,&#8221; crowed on X, “A federal court just upheld California’s law REQUIRING federal agents to identify themselves. California will keep standing up for civil rights and our democracy.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
A federal court just upheld California’s law REQUIRING federal agents to identify themselves.
California will keep standing up for civil rights and our democracy.
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) <a href="https://twitter.com/CAgovernor/status/2021024933342748713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
But as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Harmeet Dhillon was quick to point out, the governor’s celebratory rhetoric was little more than a thin veil for a legal drubbing. Dhillon, cutting through the ego of the California governor, summarized the reality of the situation with brutal efficiency: &#8220;California made frivolous arguments and LOST in court.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
TL/DR: California made frivolous arguments and LOST in court. <a href="https://t.co/cLtZbWEtid">https://t.co/cLtZbWEtid</a>
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) <a href="https://twitter.com/AAGDhillon/status/2021276930662679035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The most aggressive component of California’s anti-ICE agenda, the mask ban, was unceremoniously blocked. The Trump administration’s Department of Justice argued that stripping federal agents of their masks wasn&#8217;t about &#8220;transparency,&#8221; but about exposing federal officers to harassment, doxing, and physical violence.
Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the injunction, writing, “ANOTHER key court victory thanks to our outstanding @TheJusticeDept  attorneys. Following our arguments, a district court in California BLOCKED the enforcement of a law that would have banned federal agents from wearing masks to protect their identities.  These federal agents are harassed, doxxed, obstructed, and attacked on a regular basis just for doing their jobs. We have no tolerance for it.  We will continue fighting and winning in court for President Trump’s law-and-order agenda — and we will ALWAYS have the backs of our great federal law enforcement officers.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
ANOTHER key court victory thanks to our outstanding <a href="https://twitter.com/TheJusticeDept?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheJusticeDept</a> attorneys.
Following our arguments, a district court in California BLOCKED the enforcement of a law that would have banned federal agents from wearing masks to protect their identities.
These federal agents are…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) <a href="https://twitter.com/AGPamBondi/status/2020987402882515174?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Judge Snyder’s ruling hinged on the fact that California’s law was a textbook case of federal discrimination. The state attempted to force federal agents to show their faces while conveniently exempting its own state law enforcement officers from the same standard. This violation of the Supremacy Clause meant the &#8220;No Secret Police Act&#8221; died on the vine because the state tried to play by a different set of rules than the ones it demanded for the feds.
Professor of Law Jonathan Turley noted, “As some of us previously noted, the California law requiring ICE agents to remove their masks has been found unconstitutional. Still, in my view, the discrimination rationale of Judge Christina Snyder (a Clinton appointee) is too narrow. Snyder left in place other provisions that the Administration could challenge. Moreover, the problem is not just that the state exempted its own officers, but that the state was dictating operational elements in federal law enforcement.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
As some of us previously noted, the California law requiring ICE agents to remove their masks has been found unconstitutional. <a href="https://t.co/tsPbncIybW">https://t.co/tsPbncIybW</a> Still, in my view, the discrimination rationale of Judge Christina Snyder (a Clinton appointee) is too narrow&#8230;
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonathanTurley/status/2021030467357769958?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
While Newsom tries to spin the leftover &#8220;ID badge&#8221; requirement as a monumental triumph, the reality remains: the federal government successfully stopped California from dictating the operational safety of federal agents. Newsom can brag all he wants, but as Dhillon and Bondi made clear, the law-and-order agenda just secured a major foothold in the Ninth Circuit’s backyard.

MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-10-16-AM-8882

Dhillon Shreds Newsom After Court Blocks California’s ‘No Secret Police Act’

Gavin Newsom

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Colony Ridge, the Texas neighborhood that became the “fastest growing development” in the country thanks to a marketing scheme that targeted illegal immigrants, has <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txsd.1945245/gov.uscourts.txsd.1945245.149.1.pdf">agreed</a> to pay $68 million in penalties in a joint settlement with the Trump administration and the State of Texas.
The developers of Colony Ridge, located just north of Houston, came under both federal and state investigation after a 2023 report by The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-colony-ridge-the-fastest-growing-development-in-the-u-s-is-a-magnet-for-illegal-immigrants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exposed</a> how it grew to nearly 100,000 residents with a business model catered to illegal immigrants. Its Spanish-only marketing campaigns were directed at foreign buyers.
The initial lawsuit was brought by the Biden administration, which said Colony Ridge “targeted Hispanic consumers with predatory loans” and “misled” them about what they were getting. Colony Ridge sold inexpensive plots of land at sky-high interest rates, with a type of loan available to illegal immigrants who are ineligible to apply for traditional loans. The buyers ended up in a “cycle of foreclosure,” creating a “nightmare for thousands of hardworking Hispanic families,” Biden’s Department of Justice said, treating the illegal immigrant population as the victim.
The settlement, however, was reached by the Trump administration and Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. Its provisions appear designed not only to punish Colony Ridge, but also to end its ability to give loans to illegal immigrants, and even to supercharge deportations.
Included in the settlement is a pledge to require purchasers to present a valid Texas-issued driver’s license or identification card, or a valid visa issued after January 1, 2025. Also included is a pledge to spend $20 million to build a new law enforcement center inside Colony Ridge, where cartel activity has taken a foothold.
Want to support The Daily Wire’s journalism? <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*zk9jo9*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3NzA3MDY0MTIuQ2p3S0NBaUFxS2JNQmhCbUVpd0FaM1Vib05iT0dWbm9xdVB3Mk1RR1c0VmdKb0xlVVRSSU9KYUlDbEpSQjVNYWJSMGVndlB5dnB3MFBSb0NEZ3NRQXZEX0J3RQ..*_gcl_au*Mjc1MjQyNDA2LjE3NzAwNDYyOTM.*_ga*MTQxNjEzNTU5NC4xNjkxNjk2NTg1*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*czE3NzA3MDU5NjUkbzM1MyRnMSR0MTc3MDcwNjQyOSRqNjAkbDAkaDA." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Join DailyWire+</a>.
According to Paxton, the funding can be used to facilitate deportations carried out by local Texas law enforcement.
“Colony Ridge endangered American citizens by allowing illegal aliens to run rampant on its streets, in its schools, and in its community. Now, it’s time for those responsible to pay a steep cost for their unlawful actions,” Paxton said. “My office will continue to bring the full force of the law against anyone who threatens the safety of our state or creates a safe harbor for illegals.”
Paxton’s office said the agreement “halts the development of a de facto illegal immigrant community.”
Among the other provisions are $48 million for infrastructure improvements to the development, which was plagued by flooding and sewage issues, and a promise to end its predatory lending practices.
“This DOJ will go after all lenders, financiers, and land developers who participate in schemes which ultimately encourage illegal immigration,” said Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. “The changes required by this settlement will promote public safety, and affordable and sustainable homeownership in America, key priorities of this administration.”
LISTEN TO MORNING WIRE’S INVESTIGATION INTO COLONY RIDGE:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-americas-largest-illegal-immigrant-enclave-9-17-23/id1576594336?i=1000628139512" 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>
Colony Ridge became a flash point for the illegal immigration crisis in America. The massive influx of illegal immigrants that came across the border during the Biden administration found a whole community that was ready to accept them.
The communities that surrounded them all of a sudden saw their lives changed. Their once-quiet towns were now down the street from shocking crimes, such as three previously deported illegal immigrants who were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/3-illegal-aliens-arrested-after-344-pounds-of-meth-found-in-colony-ridge?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=3+Illegal+Aliens+Arrested+After+344+Pounds+Of+Meth+Found+In+Colony+Ridge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">caught with 344 pounds of crystal meth</a>, Mexican <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-illegal-alien-captured-at-colony-ridge-believed-to-be-tied-to-mexican-drug-cartel?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Illegal+Alien+Captured+At+Colony+Ridge+Believed+To+Be+Tied+To+Mexican+Drug+Cartel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drug cartel leadership</a>, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/illegal-alien-two-accomplices-plead-guilty-in-colony-ridge-murder-case?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Illegal+Alien%2C+Two+Accomplices+Plead+Guilty+In+Colony+Ridge+Murder+Case" target="_blank" rel="noopener">several brutal murders</a>.
After President Trump took office, deportation raids captured more than 100 targets in Colony Ridge alone, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nearly-100-illegals-captured-in-colony-ridge-deportation-raids?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Over+100+Illegals+Captured+In+Colony+Ridge+Deportation+Raids" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.

Colony Ridge

Colony Ridge Agrees To Pay $68 Million In Penalties For ‘Illegal Immigrant Haven’

Ken Paxton

Texas

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

Don Lemon

FACE Act

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

Menu