The Department of Justice, under Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, has publicly put a spotlight on the mob that invaded a St. Paul church and even put former CNN host Don Lemon “on notice” for his role in documenting the disruption. Americans who value faith and order should be relieved that a law-and-order Justice Department is finally treating places of worship as sacrosanct, not as playgrounds for left-wing intimidation.
Video from the scene shows anti-ICE activists forcing their way into Cities Church, chanting and frightening worshippers until services were effectively shut down and families fled. Lemon livestreamed parts of the intrusion, then defended the protesters as exercising the First Amendment, but many Minnesotans watched in horror as a house of God was turned into a political rally.
Harmeet Dhillon made it clear the Civil Rights Division is not bluffing: federal statutes like the FACE Act exist to protect worshippers from harassment, and the DOJ is investigating potential criminal violations that go beyond mere protest. Good conservatives know that when the law is enforced evenhandedly, it protects ordinary Americans from the chaos that radical activists and enabling journalists bring to our streets and sanctuaries.
Don Lemon’s claim that he was merely doing “journalism” while following and amplifying a group that stormed a church is being met with justified skepticism; legal analysts say embedding oneself in an action that clearly intends to intimidate worshippers is not a First Amendment get-out-of-jail-free card. The media have long pretended activism dressed up as reporting is above the law, but this moment proves journalists can be complicit, and they should be treated like anyone else if criminal behavior took place.
Meanwhile, Minnesota’s political leadership can’t escape scrutiny — Governor Tim Walz’s inflammatory rhetoric and the state’s fraught relationship with federal immigration enforcement have helped create an atmosphere where federal officers and lawful institutions look like targets. Federal investigations and court orders about what tactics federal agents may use show this crisis has been building for months, and political posturing on the left has consequences for federal law enforcement and public safety.
This is not a time for equivocation or for the usual leftist excuse-making. If the DOJ finds violations, those responsible — agitators, organizers, and anyone who aided them — must face the full weight of the law so that American citizens can worship in peace and so federal officers can do their jobs without fear of political retribution. The right must stand unapologetically for churches, for the rule of law, and for accountability across the media-industrial complex.
Patriots should watch how this plays out: support prosecutors who uphold religious liberty, demand consequences for activist journalists who cross the line, and remember at the ballot box which leaders defended order and which stoked division. Our communities, our faith, and our officers deserve leaders who protect them, not politicians who whisper encouragement to mobs.
