Judge Declines to Charge Don Lemon Over Church Storming, Bondi ‘Enraged’ as Trump Admin Explores Next Steps
A federal magistrate judge has refused to sign charges against former CNN anchor Don Lemon over his alleged involvement in the anti-ICE protest that stormed a Minnesota church, prompting outrage from Attorney General Pam Bondi and other Trump administration officials.
According to a source close to the proceedings, Bondi was “enraged” at the decision, which blocks an immediate attempt to prosecute Lemon for participating in the Sunday incident at Cities Church in St. Paul. Federal authorities arrested three individuals accused of organizing or leading the demonstration, which targeted the church over reports that one of its pastors was also an ICE official.
Lemon was caught on video inside the church during the disruption, claiming he was there as an independent journalist.
But Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche pushed back on that defense, telling Fox News’s Will Cain that “freedom of the press” doesn’t shield individuals from being held accountable when they participate in unlawful activity.
“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,” Blanche said. “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.”
Assistant Attorney for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon echoed those concerns in an interview with Benny Johnson, suggesting Lemon was not merely a bystander.
“Don Lemon himself has come out and said he knew exactly what was going to happen inside that facility,” Dhillon said. “He went into the facility, and then he began ‘committing journalism,’ as if that’s some sort of shield from being an embedded part of a criminal conspiracy — it isn’t.”
Dhillon confirmed the Justice Department is actively reviewing whether charges under the FACE Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act may still be appropriate. The FACE Act, which has often been used against pro-life activists, prohibits interfering with individuals at places of religious worship.
The protest sparked immediate backlash from elected Republicans. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) blasted Lemon, calling him a “failed reporter” and mocking him as “that Lemon loser.”
“They’ve been led to believe this type of behavior is acceptable,” Emmer said. “We’ve got [Governor] Tim Walz and [AG] Keith Ellison literally doing everything they can to obstruct the lawful actions of federal law enforcement.”
President Donald Trump also weighed in during a press conference Tuesday, slamming Lemon as a “loser” and “lightweight” for his alleged involvement.
“I saw him, the way he walked in that church was terrible,” Trump said. “I have such respect for that pastor. He was so calm. He was so nice. He was just accosted. What they did in that church was horrible.”
Trump officials say they are continuing to explore legal avenues to hold Lemon accountable, despite the initial judicial setback. After the protest, Lemon appeared to double down, accusing the congregation of being part of a broader structure of “white supremacy.”