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On January 29, 2026 federal agents took former CNN anchor Don Lemon into custody in Los Angeles in connection with a January 18 demonstration that disrupted a worship service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Prosecutors later charged Lemon under federal civil rights statutes and the FACE Act, alleging a coordinated interference with the congregation’s right to worship; he was released the following day on his own recognizance and is due in federal court on February 9, 2026. This is not theater — it is the Justice Department responding to real assaults on religious liberty that have been swept under the rug by sympathetic media for too long.
Make no mistake: many in Big Media whose reflex is to wail about press freedom are shrinking from the clear evidence that journalism does not give cover for disruption and intimidation. Lemon insists he was merely reporting, but video of the event and comments from organizers make plain that this was a planned disruption designed to shame a pastor over his government ties. Americans who cherish both the First Amendment and the sanctity of worship should demand a fair, fact-based legal process rather than reflexive sanctimony from left-leaning outlets.
It is long past time that churches, synagogues, and other houses of worship are treated as off-limits to political hooliganism, period. The DOJ’s decision to pursue charges in this case signals that the federal government can and must step in when elected local officials tolerate lawlessness or when activists weaponize religion for political theater. Conservatives have been warning about the erosion of public order for years; accountability in Minneapolis is overdue and welcome.
President Trump’s choice to dispatch Border Czar Tom Homan to Minnesota underscored the gravity of the situation, and Homan arrived the week of January 27, 2026 to meet with Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and local law enforcement. Homan has been blunt: federal officials will remain in the state until the problem is solved and those who organize attacks on federal personnel will be held to account. That kind of direct action and plain-speaking leadership is what Americans expect when communities face coordinated chaos.
Local leaders who spent months posturing against federal enforcement and downplaying threats cannot now posture as victims when their policies invite mayhem. The sensible conservative position is not to micromanage prosecutions from afar but to insist that state and city officials fully cooperate with federal authorities and prioritize the safety of ordinary citizens and worshippers. If cooperation is not forthcoming, the federal government has both the authority and the duty to protect constitutional rights and public order.
Let us also call out the double standard: when a conservative commentator or law-abiding citizen exercises free speech they are smeared, but when activists invade a sanctuary and livestream its humiliation they are sometimes elevated by networks and platforms. This case is a test of whether our institutions will defend the rule of law equally, not selectively, and whether the promise of religious liberty means anything in practice. We should demand transparency, vigorous prosecutions where warranted, and real consequences for organizing crowd violence.
Patriots who love freedom must support a balanced approach that defends the First Amendment while refusing to let it be twisted into a shield for intimidation. Stand with law enforcement when they act within the law, stand with communities that want to worship in peace, and stand against the cynical spectacle-making that tears our country apart. If America is to remain a nation of laws and faith, we must insist on order, accountability, and the courage to call out those who would subvert both.
