A federal judge refused to sign a complaint against former CNN host Don Lemon for his alleged role in storming a Minnesota church service on Sunday with a mob of anti-ICE agitators.
Attorney General Pam Bondi was “enraged” at the magistrate judge’s refusal to sign the charges, a source familiar with the proceedings told The Daily Wire.
Federal authorities made three arrests of protestors who allegedly took part in targeting the church over a pastor accused of serving as an ICE chief in Minnesota.
Lemon was seen on video at the protest under the guise of covering it as an independent journalist.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, however, said Monday that freedom of the press does not extend to “being part of the group that storms inside of a church&#8221; in reference to Lemon.
“Freedom of the press extends to a lot of different areas,” Blanche <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2013363084065169616" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told</a> Fox News’s Will Cain. “It does not extend to somebody just trespassing and being embedded with a group of rioters and being part of the group that storms inside of a church… the fact that Mr. Lemon thought that was a good idea, and then raced away from it saying it was ‘freedom of the press’ — well, we’ll see.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Don Lemon blatantly admits his intent to violate the FACE Act by contacting the leader of an anti-ICE group to storm a church.
&#8220;They&#8217;re planning an operation. We&#8217;ll follow them. They&#8217;ll catch people off guard. That&#8217;s what we&#8217;re doing.&#8221;<a href="https://t.co/qSUbPvLWDP">pic.twitter.com/qSUbPvLWDP</a>
— MRC NewsBusters (@newsbusters) <a href="https://twitter.com/newsbusters/status/2013286300732764352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
Assistant Attorney for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon hinted on Monday that charges could be brought against Lemon for his alleged involvement.
“Don Lemon himself has come out and said he knew exactly what was going to happen inside that facility. He went into the facility, and then he began ‘committing journalism,’ as if that’s sort of a shield from being a part, an embedded part of a criminal conspiracy, it isn’t,” she told podcaster Benny Johnson on Monday.
Dhillon also said that the Justice Department was looking into possible violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which has long been weaponized against pro-life protesters, and the Ku Klux Klan Act.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Republican who represents Minnesota, told The Daily Wire that Lemon, whom he called “that failed reporter, that loser, that Lemon loser,” should face accountability for joining the mob.
“They’ve been led to believe that this type of behavior is acceptable. I mean, we’ve got [Minnesota Democratic Governor] Tim Walz and [Attorney General] Keith Ellison, literally doing everything they can to obstruct the lawful actions of federal law enforcement,” Emmer said.
Despite facing pushback from the judge, the Trump administration is reportedly exploring other avenues to charge Lemon.
Following the demonstration, Lemon slammed the Christian worshippers as people entitled by &#8220;white supremacy.&#8221;
During a press conference on Tuesday, President Donald Trump called Lemon a &#8220;loser&#8221; and &#8220;lightweight&#8221; for allegedly taking part in the protest.
&#8220;I saw him, the way he walked in that church was terrible. I have such respect for that pastor. He was so calm. He was so nice,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;He was just accosted. What they did in that church was horrible.&#8221;

2025 Blackweek Conference

Judge Rejects Charges Against Don Lemon, And Bondi Is ‘Enraged’

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Minnesota

Pam Bondi

Federal authorities arrested three alleged agitators who participated in the anti-ICE mob that stormed a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday.
Attorney General Pam Bondi first announced on Thursday morning that agents with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations nabbed Black Lives Matter activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, who is accused of playing &#8220;a key role in organizing the coordinated attack&#8221; on Cities Church. Minutes later, Bondi said authorities had arrested Chauntyll Louisa Allen, who leads Black Lives Matter Twin Cities and serves on the St. Paul Public Schools board.
Later Thursday, Bondi revealed that authorities also took William Kelly into custody. Notably, Kelly previously harassed worshippers at Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s church in Washington, D.C.
&#8220;Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,&#8221; Bondi wrote.
&#8220;Our nation was settled and founded by people fleeing religious persecution. Religious freedom is the bedrock of this country. We will protect our pastors. We will protect our churches. We will protect Americans of faith,&#8221; Bondi went on to say.
The group allegedly stormed the church service and harassed worshippers, asserting that one of the pastors is a top ICE official in Minnesota. Since then, Trump administration officials have pledged to make arrests and use the FACE Act, which has long been weaponized against pro-life protesters, to prosecute the protesters, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who was seen on video with the mob under the guise of functioning as an independent journalist.
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.”
Armstrong, who is the former president of the Minnesota NAACP, defended her actions during a CNN interview earlier this week. She said the group peacefully sat in the service and waited to confront the pastor about his colleague, who is allegedly a top ICE official in Minnesota, until after he prayed.
&#8220;We did not rush into that church, we actually went and sat down and participated in the service. And after the pastor prayed, that is when I stood up and asked him a question in response to his prayer, and then he responded to me, and then I proceeded to ask him about Pastor David Easterwood and how is it possible for him to serve as both a pastor and the director of ICE for Minnesota,&#8221; Armstrong said.
&#8220;And instead of responding to me, as soon as I said the name David Easterwood, the pastor said &#8216;shame, shame&#8217; and that is when I led us in chants &#8216;Justice for Renee Good&#8217; and &#8216;Hands up don&#8217;t shoot,'&#8221; she said, adding &#8220;We didn&#8217;t rush in, we didn&#8217;t bust in, we were a part of the service until I got up and posed that question to the pastor.&#8221;
Allen also spoke to the media after the incident, telling TMZ that the Trump administration should focus its resources on investigating Good&#8217;s death.
&#8220;I see this as a distraction from the real issue that is ICE is in Minnesota right now, terrorizing our communities &#8230; they&#8217;re murdering people,&#8221; she said.
She also doubled down, saying activists &#8220;should continue to interrupt spaces and make sure that people are very much aware of the people that they&#8217;re following, where their dollars are going and how we can start to disrupt that overall system that continues to want to oppress black and brown and indigenous people.&#8221;
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Republican who represents Minnesota, told The Daily Wire during an interview Thursday that he hopes the activists &#8220;get prosecuted to the full extent.&#8221; He also mentioned Don Lemon, whom he called &#8220;that failed reporter, that loser, that Lemon loser,&#8221; and said he should face accountability for joining the mob. Lemon claims he was covering the group as an independent journalist.
&#8220;They&#8217;ve been led to believe that this type of behavior is acceptable.  I mean, we&#8217;ve got [Minnesota Democratic Governor] Tim Walz and [Attorney General] Keith Ellison, literally doing everything they can to obstruct the lawful actions of federal law enforcement,&#8221; Emmer said.
Emmer also touched on the arrests that have already been made.
&#8220;Why am I surprised that this clearly immature school board member thinks that it&#8217;s okay to try to obstruct and confront federal law enforcement trying to do their job. It&#8217;s unfortunate, but she should be arrested and she should also be held accountable,&#8221; Emmer said.
&#8220;It&#8217;s not enough just to say, &#8216;Oh, don&#8217;t do that again.&#8217; No, people have got to see there are consequences for this type of behavior. This has been the problem in Minnesota.  There have been no consequences,&#8221; he said.

Untitled design – 2026-01-22T090802.984

Feds Arrest Three In Connection With Anti-ICE Protest That Stormed Minnesota Church

Feds Arrest Two In Connection With Anti-ICE Protest That Stormed Minnesota Church

Federal Agents Descend On Minneapolis For Immigration Enforcement Operations

LIVE UPDATES: Feds Arrest Three In Connection With Anti-ICE Protest That Stormed Minnesota Church

Donald Trump

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Minneapolis

Tim Walz

Trump Administration

Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey dismissed Justice Department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-subpoenas-walz-top-minnesota-dems-in-major-ice-interference-investigation">subpoenas</a> issued to him and other Minnesota Democrats, calling the federal government&#8217;s probe &#8220;political retribution.&#8221;
Frey, along with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, was served subpoenas by the FBI earlier this week as they are accused of conspiring to interfere with federal law enforcement operations. Asked about his subpoena by <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/minneapolis-mayor-jacob-frey-subpoenas-minnesota/">NewsNation</a> host Chris Cuomo on Wednesday night, Frey said the Trump administration&#8217;s action &#8220;should be of deep concern for everybody.&#8221;
“Obviously, it’s frivolous,” Frey said. “I’m going to let some of the lawyers handle the way this is handled as it works its way through the process. And again, this should be of deep concern for everybody.”
“This is political retribution that we are seeing here,” he added. “This is some form of retaliation, because I don’t know, the state didn’t support the president in like three consecutive elections. And we have an important role right now.”
Minnesota Democrats have argued that President Donald Trump is targeting their state as part of a &#8220;retribution&#8221; campaign. The state leaders point to Trump&#8217;s post on Truth Social on January 13, when the president <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115888070937502023">wrote</a>, &#8220;FEAR NOT, GREAT PEOPLE OF MINNESOTA, THE DAY OF RECKONING &amp; RETRIBUTION IS COMING!&#8221;
Last week, the Justice Department opened an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-opens-investigation-into-tim-walz-jacob-frey-over-suspected-conspiracy-to-impede-federal-agents?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=10&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=DOJ+Opens+Investigation+Into+Tim+Walz%2C+Jacob+Frey+Over+Suspected+Conspiracy+To+Impede+Federal+Agents">investigation</a> into Frey and Walz, looking into whether the Democratic leaders violated a federal statute by interfering with federal immigration enforcement.
After the shooting death of Minneapolis resident Renee Good on January 7, Frey told ICE to “get the f*ck out of Minneapolis.” Good was shot and killed after she was confronted by federal law enforcement agents when she parked her vehicle in front of them. She then drove her vehicle toward an ICE officer after another officer attempted to open her car door.
After the fatal shooting, the mayor said that ICE agents were “causing chaos” in Minneapolis and suggested that residents were asking for the city police to “fight” ICE agents “on the streets” before he urged residents to remain peaceful.
Last week in Minneapolis, tensions escalated following a confrontation between federal immigration agents and agitators after an ICE agent fired defensive shots during an operation, leaving a Venezuelan illegal immigrant with non-life-threatening injuries, federal officials said. Agitators showed up on the scene and threw fireworks at law enforcement officers and vandalized federal law enforcement vehicles, and in at least one case, broke into a federal vehicle.
On Wednesday night, Frey doubled down on the city&#8217;s refusal to cooperate with ICE.
“We will not [cooperate],” Frey told Cuomo. &#8220;And there’s a good reason, by the way, that we won’t. And it’s not just the moral imperative here. It’s also the fact that I want our police officers focusing on safety. I want our police officers arresting perpetrators of violent crime and preventing carjackings from taking place and doing that basic work of 911 response.”
The Trump administration has said that the surge in immigration agents in Minneapolis is due to city and state leaders refusing to work with ICE and hand over detained illegal immigrants. The White House <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2026/01/minnesotas-sanctuary-defiance-has-consequences/#:~:text=Trump%20delivers%20on%20the%20promise,business%2C%20not%20immigration%20business.%E2%80%9D">said</a> last week that Trump has a mandate from the American people to carry out deportations, but argued that Minnesota Democrats &#8220;have chosen defiance over partnership.&#8221;
&#8220;This toxic combination of &#8216;sanctuary&#8217; policies and anti-ICE rhetoric has created a climate of hostility that endangers federal officers and incites violence,&#8221; the White House added. &#8220;Make no mistake: the responsibility for the enhanced enforcement operations in Minnesota — and the tension and violence — lies squarely with these officials who refuse to partner with the Trump Administration and instead put their Radical Left agenda over public safety and the rule of law.&#8221;

Jacob Frey

‘It’s Frivolous’: Minneapolis Dem Mayor Says DOJ Subpoena Is ‘Political Retribution’

Department of Justice

jacob frey

President Donald Trump puts Greenland center stage at Davos, veteran sports reporter Michele Tafoya jumps into the Minnesota Senate race, and former special counsel Jack Smith testifies in Congress.
It’s Thursday, January 22, 2026, 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:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/davos-gets-trumped-jack-smith-faces-congress-1-22-26/id1576594336?i=1000746185568" 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;">Trump At Davos Strikes A Deal On Greenland</h2>
President Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-updates-trump-addresses-world-economic-forum-in-davos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gave</a> a highly anticipated speech on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum, slamming European leaders and reiterating his desire to acquire Greenland, which he now says he has a framework agreement on. Before Trump’s arrival in Switzerland, European leaders had banded together, offering a unified front against the United States, and Trump came out swinging, essentially telling members they need the United States a lot more than America needs Europe. The World Economic Forum is typically a venue for heads of state to discuss global cooperation and to push for policies they say will offer equal benefit to every nation. But in a wide-ranging 90-minute speech and Q&amp;A session, the president reiterated what he has been saying for years on the campaign trail and from the Bully Pulpit: his number one priority is benefiting the American people, not the global order.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Michele Tafoya On The Mess In Minnesota</h2>
The investigations into officials in Minnesota have shaken the state – and shaken up its topline political races. Amid the turmoil, popular political commentator and former NFL reporter Michele Tafoya is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-nfl-reporter-michele-tafoya-announces-enters-minnesota-senate-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jumping</a> into the race for the Senate as a Republican candidate. Tafoya said she was inspired to jump into politics in part because of a “crisis of leadership” in the state. The former sideline reporter is running to replace retiring Democratic Senator Tina Smith. Despite the open seat, Tafoya faces a challenging campaign ahead in a state that has not been represented in the U.S. Senate by a Republican in 20 years.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Mr. Jack Smith Goes To Washington (Again)</h2>
Former special counsel Jack Smith is set to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday. His investigation into President Trump and the questionable tactics he used is expected to be a central focus of lawmakers’ questions. Expect fireworks. Smith has already been deposed once by the committee. It was closed to the public, though Republicans released a transcript. In front of the cameras, Republicans will have plenty to question Smith about, including some topics that have only come to light after Smith’s deposition last month. Lawmakers will also have another shot to ask Smith about spying on the phone records of some Republicans in Congress.

MW_260122_V1_Thumb

Morning Brief: Davos Gets Trumped, Sports Reporter Jumps In Senate Race, & Jack Smith Faces Congress

Morning Brief: Trump At Davos, Tafoya Jumps In, And Jack Smith To Testify

Jack Smith

Michele Tafoya

Morning Wire

World Economic Forum

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ended his campaign for re-election, a stunning reversal and likely the end of the political career of a man who many pundits projected would be the Democratic nominee for president as early as 2028.
But if a once-popular governor can be toppled by widespread welfare fraud, where does that leave other Democratic presidential hopefuls?
The revelations of staggering levels of fraud in Minnesota — and Walz’s preemptive exit from the big stage — should send a chill down the spines of Gavin Newsom, Josh Shapiro, and JB Pritzker, who are likely sitting on powder kegs of fraud themselves. What are the odds that Tim Walz is an outlier among blue-state governors with the exact same political philosophy and ideology? Unlikely.
Federal prosecutors allege more than <a href="https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/12/18/u-s-attorney-fraud-likely-exceeds-9-billion-in-minnesota-run-medicaid-services/">$9 billion</a> in Minnesota Medicaid dollars were stolen by scammers primarily from the state’s Somali community, an enormous sum, equivalent to roughly three-quarters of <a href="https://nbs.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Somalia-GDP-2024-release-text-v3-2025.pdf">Somalia’s GDP</a>. Investigations are ongoing, and the real total loss may be even higher.
Welfare programs are an enormous money pot that inevitably attracts scammers. And the bigger the pot, the bigger the potential payoff for thieves. With state budgets the size of those in California, Illinois, and New York, not to mention Democrats’ general posture toward welfare expansion, it would be truly shocking if there were less fraud in those larger states.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins requested data from the states on who is receiving food stamps early last year, including identifying information like Social Security numbers and, importantly, immigration status. The Trump administration has previously discovered that more than one million people were illegally receiving <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/cms-doge-identify-wasteful-duplicate-medicaid-enrollments.html">Medicaid in multiple states</a> — and it’s likely the same with food stamps and SNAP benefits. Individual states are not able to detect this kind of fraud: only the federal government can find it by comparing recipients across the states.
But Democrats have refused to help the Trump administration find fraud. In fact, <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-sues-trump-administration-over-illegal-demands-states">in July</a>, 22 blue states sued to block the Trump administration from requiring the data. Democrats want the federal government to pay for food stamps without knowing who is receiving them.
Tim Walz and the other 21 governors have all seen the information they are currently hiding from the feds. In the absence of transparency from these elected officials, federal investigators, journalists, and citizens of goodwill all need to keep digging until the American people get the truth and law enforcement can bring fraudsters to justice.
Food stamp fraud is a known fact. According to the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO), more than <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-25-107753.pdf">$10 billion</a> in the food stamp program is wasted every year — <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap/key-statistics-and-research">more than 10%</a> of the program. Some blue states have even higher error rates: Massachusetts and D.C. overpay by an average of more than <a href="https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/snap-fy24QC-PER.pdf">13%</a> — and New York and New Jersey aren’t far behind at more than 12%. That means that one out of every eight dollars in these states is wasted — and this is just the waste, fraud, and abuse that we know about.
Nearly <a href="https://thefga.org/research/categorical-eligibility-in-food-stamps-is-fraud-by-design/">every Democrat-run state</a> in America also uses an accounting gimmick called Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility, or BBCE, to hide its own erroneous payments from the federal government. BBCE means that if someone receives a non-monetary TANF benefit, like a brochure or the number to a welfare agency hotline, the state assumes that they qualify for food stamps, too, without bothering to check their assets to see if they are actually eligible. The result is an explosion in the welfare state, costing taxpayers more than <a href="https://thefga.org/solution/promoting-work-over-welfare/bbce/">$11 billion per year</a>, with the benefits going to people with liquid assets well above the limits set in federal law.
The good news is that, thanks to a new law signed by President Trump, states with high error rates can no longer waste federal tax dollars with impunity. States with food stamp payment error rates over <a href="https://www.sas.com/en_us/news/press-releases/2025/november/payment-integrity-food-assistance.html">six percent</a> are now legally required to start paying back a small part of the cost of the program. Left-wing Massachusetts could owe more than <a href="https://www.wwlp.com/news/massachusetts/understaffed-dta-faces-steep-snap-penalty-risks/">$250 million per year</a>. Deep-blue Maryland may be on the hook for more than <a href="https://marylandmatters.org/2025/12/03/maryland-may-face-more-than-300-million-in-new-snap-costs-due-to-high-payment-error/">$300 million</a>. This is a great first step, and not only will it help repay federal taxpayers, but it will also encourage states to finally get their act together and stop wasting money.
As the old story goes, criminals rob banks “because that’s where the money is.” And there are no bigger pots of money than the federal treasury and the bloated budgets of blue states. Attorney General Bondi and investigators across the country are beginning to look at where the real money is — and the fallout could bring down the entire top-tier slate of 2028 Democratic presidential nominees.
* * *
Adam Gibbs is the communications director for the Foundation for Government Accountability.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Opening Day Of World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026

Welfare Fraud Threatens Top-Tier Democratic Presidential Nominees Ahead Of 2028

Welfare Fraud Threatens Top-Tier Democratic Presidential Nominees Ahead of 2028

2028 presidential election

Democrats

Elections

Fraud

Gavin Newsom

J.B. Pritzker

Josh Shapiro

Somalis

Radical ICE watch groups in Minnesota are recruiting &#8220;white folks&#8221; to break black arrestees out of cop cars as violence against federal immigration agents continues to surge.
One of the groups, &#8220;ICE out of Twin Ports,&#8221; posted a guide on Instagram Tuesday on &#8220;de-arresting&#8221; and &#8220;preventing cops from making an arrest by swarming and physically thwarting them&#8221; that advocates for direct confrontation with law enforcement.
The anti-ICE group asked white protesters to gather in groups of &#8220;comrades&#8221; to break black detainees out of zip tie handcuffs, out of cop cars, and to hit officers trying to hold them.
&#8220;White folks need to put their bodies in the way and first do everything they can to make sure black folks are not subject to police violence,&#8221; the group wrote in its Instagram post.
&#8220;Keep up the struggle y&#8217;all &#8211; Minnesotans been melting ICE with triple the amount of kidnappers that Chicago had in 1/3 of the area and they are still threatening more &#8211; we must keep showing up for our neighbors, it’s working &#8211; know your rights &#8211; stay alert &amp; warm &#8211; mask up,&#8221; the post read.
Anti-ICE groups have organized throughout the city to expose ICE&#8217;s whereabouts and impede arrests. Renee Good, the 37-year-old woman who was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis earlier this month, was reportedly part of one such group.
On a recent ride-along with ICE in Minneapolis, The Daily Wire observed dozens of ICE watch protesters tracking federal agents&#8217; every move and showing up to alert illegal immigrants in neighborhoods across the Twin Cities.
Assaults on ICE officers have surged more than 1,000% since President Donald Trump returned to office, and death threats have increased by a whopping 8,000%.
If individuals attempt to impede arrests, ICE has the authority to arrest the protesters, Samuel Olsen, the director of the agency’s St. Paul office, told The Daily Wire.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Radical ICE Watch groups in Minnesota are now openly instructing “white folks” to break detainees out of cop cars <a href="https://t.co/z5QZvQZKVq">pic.twitter.com/z5QZvQZKVq</a>
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JennieSTaer/status/2013984020741120085?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
Before, “it was very rare … now, we’re making arrests of agitators daily,” Olsen said.
“When we have to arrest a U.S. citizen, it really takes us away from our other mission.”
&#8220;ICE out of Twin Ports&#8221; advertised plans to hold protests in Duluth, Minnesota, on Thursday and Friday as they call out both the local police department and ICE for working together to carry out &#8220;state terror.&#8221; Friday&#8217;s protest is expected to be a &#8220;sit-in&#8221; at the Duluth City Hall.
The police chief in Duluth, Mike Ceynowa, however, maintains that the department doesn&#8217;t collaborate with ICE on immigration-related enforcement, but may respond to a scene involving such an arrest to keep things at bay. Ceynowa also said that local officers regularly work with Homeland Security Investigations agents on drug and child sex crimes cases.
&#8220;We have a policy regarding immigration enforcement&#8230; We do not do immigration enforcement. It is not something that we are a part of. It also says though, that should the need arise, we may be called upon to peacekeep or de-escalate a situation regarding immigration. We are not going to ask somebody for their papers,&#8221; Ceynowa recently <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/H23014KJDBo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> WDIO News.

Untitled design – 2026-01-21T102116.807

Radical Minnesota ICE Watch Groups Instruct ‘White Folks’ To Break Black Detainees Out Of Cop Cars

Radical Minnesota ICE Watch Groups Instruct 'White Folks' To Break Black Detainees Out Of Cop Cars

St. Paul Democratic Mayor Kaohly Her made excuses for the protesters who crashed a church service on Sunday, arguing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents had effectively set the precedent by enforcing federal immigration law in &#8220;sacred&#8221; spaces like public schools.
Her, who was just elected mayor in November, spoke with CNN anchor Erin Burnett on Tuesday&#8217;s broadcast of &#8220;Erin Burnett Outfront,&#8221; and although she initially tried to claim that she did not support protesters disrupting Sunday worship services, she immediately pivoted to blame ICE for scaring the community to the point that they felt they didn&#8217;t have a choice.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: St Paul&#8217;s mayor, Kaohly Her, speaks for what is believed to be the first time publicly about the Christian church that was stormed in her city, days after it happened, when asked about it on CNN. Saying ICE lead the way by going into sacred places&#8230;
&#8220;I don’t ever… <a href="https://t.co/9xtmCwKqFa">pic.twitter.com/9xtmCwKqFa</a>
— Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattFinnFNC/status/2013943896733024353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I will say that ICE has led the way in their charge of going onto school properties and detaining people from places that should be just as well kept sacred,&#8221; she began. &#8220;And so we responded the exact same way we would have at any place of worship.&#8221;
Her noted that local police had arrived at the scene, but then said that she could not make additional comments because the investigation was still ongoing. She once again declared that the situation would not have been handled any differently at any other place of worship.
Burnett asked then if Her&#8217;s claim — that ICE had effectively started the tit-for-tat — meant that she thought it was acceptable for the protesters to do the same.
&#8220;I don’t ever believe that it is OK for us to cross the line in which there are spaces in which people have certain rights and freedoms,&#8221; Her said, but immediately pivoted to add, &#8220;But I will say that if this government wants us to obey rule of law that they also need to follow that as well and that they cannot expect residents who are feeling terrorized and sieged to be operating under any different circumstances or any different rules than they are operating in.&#8221;

Kaohly Her, St. Paul, Minn. mayor-elect

St. Paul’s Democrat Mayor Makes Excuses For Church-Crashing Protesters

St. Paul Mayor Makes Excuses For Church-Crashing Protesters

Church

Don Lemon

Media

Politics

Protesters

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

FACE Act

Harmeet Dhillon

Keith Ellison

Pro-Life Movement

Religious Freedom

Michele Tafoya, a longtime NFL sideline reporter turned political activist, is running for Senate in Minnesota, telling The Daily Wire her home state is at a &#8220;crisis moment.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;ve raised my family here and I love this place, and we are at a crisis moment in Minnesota, a crisis of leadership,&#8221; Tafoya said in an interview ahead of Wednesday&#8217;s launch. &#8220;These career politicians that have brought us to this place show no inclination of getting us out of it.&#8221;
Tafoya spent nearly four decades working in sports, most notably as the sideline reporter for Monday Night Football on ABC and Sunday Night Football on NBC. After she stepped away from NBC in 2022, Tafoya became a regular voice in the political sphere, launching a podcast where she discusses the issues of the day.
Now, Tafoya is stepping further into the political fray with a bid to replace retiring Democrat Senator Tina Smith. Minnesota, which has not had a Republican senator in 20 years, has become a political flashpoint following allegations of widespread fraud that occurred under Democrat Governor Tim Walz, and the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
Hours before Tafoya officially launched her campaign, Vice President JD Vance announced that he would travel to Minneapolis to hold a roundtable on the ongoing fallout from Good&#8217;s death. The tense political climate and prospect of a formidable Democrat opponent — Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan have both entered the race — pose a challenge for any Republican candidate. Tafoya says she&#8217;s ready.
&#8220;I have a willingness and a spine to do the hard work and really fight for all Minnesotans, and that&#8217;s what I will do in the Senate,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I bring new ideas to the mix and ask the tough questions, particularly about this fraud. We have to hold people accountable for this. This can&#8217;t just slip by anymore. This is right versus wrong, and we&#8217;re either going to choose the common sense that built this country or we&#8217;re going to choose corruption and craziness.&#8221;
<div style="max-width: 728px; margin: 0 auto;"><iframe style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; max-width: 100%; width: 100%; margin: 20px auto 5px; border: 0;" src="https://player.mux.com/02meCc00NNDMOBNl2fyvEbhQCnOJsMXfq01?metadata-video-content-type=embed_video&amp;metadata-video-id=eb58017e-7763-47e5-ab10-a94a092d25a2&amp;metadata-video-stream-type=on-demand&amp;metadata-video-title=1-20-2025%20Michele%20Tafoya%20&amp;poster=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywireplus-v2.imgix.net%2Fimages%2Fembedded-videos%2F9b7b0bba-35b8-4b7f-a86d-46520d6c7cd0.jpg&amp;autoplay=false&amp;accent-color=%23DB3D3B&amp;primary-color=%23ffffff&amp;secondary-color=%23000000" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>
Tafoya has been critical of Walz amid the fraud scandal, and has also slammed Minnesota Democrats for adopting soft-on-crime policies.
&#8220;We have failed leadership that has led us to the chaos that we&#8217;re seeing. It has led us to the fraud and the circumstances in which we find ourselves,&#8221; Tafoya said. &#8220;We have a crisis of law enforcement. The local law enforcement here are not allowed to work with federal law enforcement, and that has resulted in some absolutely disastrous results.&#8221;
Tafoya told The Daily Wire she&#8217;s trading the gridiron for the GOP because she wants to see the Minnesota middle class thrive again.
&#8220;People are really struggling to make ends meet and we&#8217;ve had some good signs, like gasoline is at a five-year low and GDP is high, but 
healthcare is a mess and getting a college education costs a fortune,&#8221; Tafoya said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got rent and mortgage that is too high, and these things need to be corrected.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;ve got fourth- and fifth-generation Minnesotans who love it here, who believe in this state,&#8221; she adds. &#8220;They don&#8217;t want to leave.&#8221;
Tafoya is proud of her political outsider status, but enters the race with a major ally in her corner: the National Republican Senatorial Committee for her campaign, led by South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, has already endorsed her. That endorsement could help her emerge victorious from an already-crowded Republican field that includes former NBA player Royce White, former state Republican Party chair David Hann, and others.
Despite the challenges, Tafoya says she&#8217;s ready to fight — and win.
&#8220;I&#8217;m going to have to reach every single Republican in Minnesota,&#8221; Tafoya says. &#8220;I&#8217;m going to have to reach Democrats as well and find people who are willing to cross the aisle.&#8221;
&#8220;We have a lot of independents here in Minnesota. Right now it&#8217;s about reaching out for those votes and working really hard for those votes.&#8221;

Credit: Roy Rochlin/Ethan Miller via Getty Images

Former NFL Reporter Michele Tafoya Enters Minnesota Senate Race

News

Senate GOP

U.S. Senate

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.

The FBI doled out federal criminal investigation subpoenas to the offices of Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and Attorney General Keith Ellison for allegedly conspiring to interfere with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s actions in the state.
Six offices were subpoenaed in total so far, Fox News&#8217; Bill Melugin <a href="https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/2013692532375347699?s=20">reported</a>. Sources also told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-serves-grand-jury-subpoenas-minnesota-dems-investigation-ice-obstruction-sources">the outlet </a>that “the FBI served the subpoenas, seeking records and communications.”
Frey&#8217;s office confirmed to The Daily Wire that they had received the FBI subpoena. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDailyWire</a> can independently confirm that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey&#8217;s office received an FBI subpoena
— Cameron Arcand (@cameron_arcand) <a href="https://twitter.com/cameron_arcand/status/2013691730751627403?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Walz publicly blasted the investigation on Tuesday.
“But let me be absolutely clear: The State of Minnesota will not be drawn into political theater. This Justice Department investigation, sparked by calls for accountability in the face of violence, chaos, and the killing of Renee Good, does not seek justice,” Walz said in a <a href="https://x.com/GovTimWalz/status/2013670376220348484/photo/1">statement</a>.
“It is a partisan distraction. Minnesotans are more concerned with safety and peace rather than with baseless legal tactics aimed at intimidating public servants standing shoulder to shoulder with their community,” he continued.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ellison announced that he would seek a third term in his office, a contrast from Walz’s decision not to seek re-election in light of fraud scandals plaguing the state.
“As the federal government targets Minnesota, I’m staying in this race to defend our state as Attorney General,” he posted to X.
The Daily Wire reached out to the FBI to confirm. ICE’s Operation Metro Surge has yielded 3,000 arrests in recent weeks, including individuals in the country illegally with criminal convictions.
“We have arrested over 10,000 criminal illegal aliens who were killing Americans, hurting children and reigning terror in Minneapolis because Tim Walz and Jacob Frey refuse to protect their own people and instead protect criminals,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement on Tuesday. “In the last 6 weeks, our brave DHS law enforcement have arrested 3,000 criminal illegal aliens including vicious murderers, rapists, child pedophiles, and incredibly dangerous individuals. A huge victory for public safety.”
Tensions have run extraordinarily high in the state following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer as she allegedly attempted to hit him with her car, which led to the officer suffering from internal bleeding, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Protests not only raged on in the Minneapolis area for days after the shooting, but hit a tipping point over the weekend when an anti-ICE protest interrupted a church service, accusing one of the pastors of working for ICE.

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