Former CNN anchor Don Lemon faces federal charges over Minnesota church protest incident, defends actions as journalism while AG promises prosecution.<\/b>
\nAttorney General Pam Bondi criticized former CNN anchor Don Lemon on \u00ab\u00a0Hannity\u00a0\u00bb Monday for defending his \u00ab\u00a0illegal\u00a0\u00bb actions at a Minnesota church anti-ICE protest as an \u00ab\u00a0act of journalism.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0So, anyone with a camera then would be allowed, under his [Lemon\u2019s] theory, to come in and attack a church like that and riot a church on a Sunday morning\u00a0\u00bb, she said.
\u00ab\u00a0You can’t do that in this country. It’s illegal, we’re going to prosecute you, and you will be held accountable. Doesn’t matter if you’re a failed journalist with a camera in your hand. You can\u2019t do it.\u00a0\u00bb
Bondi\u2019s remarks followed the arrest of two more individuals in connection with the invasion of a Minnesota church by anti-ICE protesters on Monday.
\u00ab\u00a0These people committed a crime under the FACE Act, and they will be held accountable\u00a0\u00bb, she explained. \u00ab\u00a0Nine of them have been charged, and you will not do this in our country. We’re coming after you if you do.\u00a0\u00bb
On Jan. 18, hundreds of anti-ICE demonstrators disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minn., protesting a pastor who they accused of assisting the Trump administration\u2019s immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota.
Bondi characterized it as an \u00ab\u00a0attack-style\u00a0\u00bb bombardment on a house of worship, detailing how one woman was injured in the incident.
\u00ab\u00a0There were children crying, there were parents blocked from getting upstairs to take their children out of Sunday school\u00a0\u00bb, she said. \u00ab\u00a0A group of women ran out a side door. Multiple people fell on the ice. One woman severely damaged her arm, had to go to the hospital.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0These parishioners thought they were gonna get shot\u00a0\u00bb, Bondi added.
The attorney general alleged the incident was led by a \u00ab\u00a0resistance operation\u00a0\u00bb, involving Lemon.
\u00ab\u00a0They met in a parking lot about two miles away while people were filing into this church service\u00a0\u00bb, Bondi told host Sean Hannity. \u00ab\u00a0They were caravanning to this church to perform an attack-style infiltration of a church service on a Sunday morning.\u00a0\u00bb
She also accused Lemon of physically blocking a parishioner from exiting the church.
According to the indictment, all nine individuals are charged with interfering with others\u2019 freedom to worship under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which protects the right to worship freely at places of worship.
Lemon has strongly pushed back on the indictment, saying his presence at the protest was an \u00ab\u00a0act of journalism\u00a0\u00bb, explaining that he was merely covering the event rather than participating.
\u00ab\u00a0F off, whoever you think is going to stop me from reporting. I\u2019ll say it f— off if you think you\u2019re going to stop me from reporting\u00a0\u00bb, Lemon said on Instagram Monday.
\u00ab\u00a0I am a journalist through and through and through\u00a0\u00bb, he continued.
All nine individuals charged in the case have been arrested, and Bondi said the Justice Department will continue prioritizing the protection of houses of worship.
\u00ab\u00a0We live in the United States of America, and you will have the right to worship safely and freely in a house of worship\u00a0\u00bb, she asserted. \u00ab\u00a0Whether it’s a church, a synagogue, a temple, a mosque, any house of worship in this country, you will be safe.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n