A Minnesota judge blocked the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) from charging Don Lemon with violating the FACE Act and the KKK Act.
The DOJ is pursuing charges against the former CNN anchor for rushing into a St. Paul church and disrupting services with other anti-ICE protestors on Sunday.
Lemon and the other protestors rushed into the Cities Church after learning one of the pastors was an ICE agent.
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act) protects access to reproductive health clinics.
The KKK Act, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, protects groups against others who deprive them of their rights.
“There’s a Constitution and a First Amendment, and freedom of speech and freedom to assemble and protest,” Lemon said.
Lemon now claims he didn’t know about the protestors’ plans until they were already inside the church.
The DOJ wants to charge Lemon under the FACE Act and the KKK Act for violating the rights of others to gather in religious worship.
But a magistrate judge refused to sign an arrest warrant for Lemon based on the 2 federal charges.
Attorney General Pam Bondi flew to Minnesota to personally meet with local prosecutors about charging Lemon.
Activist Chauntyll Louisa Allen (pictured) was taken into custody and charged by the feds. She is being held in jail without bond.
Local attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong was also charged with civil rights violations in the church riots, along with protester William Kelly.
Armstrong is accused of organizing the church protest.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon warned Lemon on X (Twitter) to “lawyer up”.
Lemon faces decades in prison if convicted of civil rights violations.
Homeland Security Investigators and FBI agents arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong who played a key role in orchestrating the Church Riots in St. Paul, Minnesota.
She is being charged with a federal crime under 18 USC 241.
Religious freedom is the bedrock of the United States -… pic.twitter.com/LHh994fXf3
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) January 22, 2026
