Don Lemon thought he dodged federal charges.
A Minnesota judge gave him a pass on storming that church.
But Megyn Kelly got Harmeet Dhillon to make one stunning promise about Lemon going to jail.
Biden weaponized FACE Act against grandmothers praying outside clinics
The FACE Act was passed in 1994 supposedly to protect both abortion clinics and churches from violence.
But under Joe Biden, the Justice Department turned it into a weapon against pro-life Christians while ignoring hundreds of attacks on pregnancy centers and churches after the Dobbs decision.
Biden's DOJ sent 75-year-old Paulette Harlow to federal prison for two years for praying outside an abortion clinic.
An 89-year-old concentration camp survivor named Eva Edl faced 10 years in prison before Trump pardoned her.
Dozens of peaceful pro-life activists got arrested at gunpoint by FBI SWAT teams.
Meanwhile, over 400 Catholic churches were attacked, vandalized, and in some cases burned to the ground.
The Biden DOJ prosecuted exactly one person out of 400 attacks.
Attorney General Merrick Garland claimed the disparity existed because pro-life protesters demonstrated "during the daylight" while pro-abortion attackers struck "at night in the dark."
That excuse didn't pass the laugh test.
The message was clear: if you're a Christian praying outside an abortion clinic, the full weight of the federal government will crush you.
If you're a leftist firebombing a pregnancy center, the DOJ will look the other way.
Don Lemon followed mob into church while cameras rolled
On Sunday January 19, former CNN host Don Lemon showed up with cameras rolling as anti-ICE protesters stormed Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The mob was targeting the church because one of its pastors, David Easterwood, leads the local ICE field office.
Lemon followed the activists inside as they disrupted the Sunday service, yelling and terrorizing families with small children.
Just last year, a trans-terrorist murdered two children at a Minneapolis church.
Lemon claimed he was "just reporting" and that his actions were protected by the First Amendment.
But Harmeet Dhillon, Trump's Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, wasn't buying it.
"A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest!" Dhillon told Lemon on X. "It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws! Nor does the First Amendment protect your pseudo journalism of disrupting a prayer service."
The DOJ moved fast to charge three protest organizers under the FACE Act and Ku Klux Klan Act.
Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights attorney who organized the protest, was arrested.
So was Chauntyll Louisa Allen, a St. Paul School Board member.
William Kelly, who goes by "Da Woke Farmer" online, was also arrested.
But when prosecutors tried to charge Lemon, they hit a roadblock.
Judge married to Keith Ellison's assistant blocks Lemon charges
Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko refused to sign the criminal complaint against Lemon.
That's extremely rare in federal practice.
Magistrate judges almost always approve arrest warrants at the probable cause stage because the bar is so low.
Then Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin dropped a bombshell.
Micko's wife, Caitlin Micko, works as an assistant attorney general in Minnesota AG Keith Ellison's office.
The same Keith Ellison who's been trashing the DOJ's legal theory in this case.
Ellison even went on Lemon's YouTube show to defend him and claim the FACE Act only applies to abortion clinics.
That's a lie – the law explicitly protects houses of worship.
But Ellison's office is now being investigated by the DOJ for obstruction after officials in Minnesota publicly encouraged people to defy ICE enforcement.
So the judge blocking charges against Lemon is married to someone whose boss appeared on Lemon's show defending him and is under federal investigation for obstruction.
You can't make this up.
Harmeet Dhillon dropped the hammer on Don Lemon with two words that had him sweating
Lemon celebrated on social media, posting a video challenging Trump to arrest him.
"Here I am. Keep trying," Lemon taunted.
He thought the judge's refusal meant he was home free.
Megyn Kelly wasn't buying Lemon's victory lap when Harmeet Dhillon appeared on her show Friday.
Kelly pressed Dhillon on whether the judge's refusal meant Lemon had actually escaped justice.
That's when Dhillon delivered a message that wiped the smirk off Lemon's face.
"We are going to do it because that's what is required for justice here," Dhillon told Kelly.
She explained the DOJ had done its homework, sent prosecutors to the ground, took affidavits, and gathered evidence.
"We have aggressively and very rapidly sought legal process," Dhillon continued.
Kelly asked about the 48-hour gap between seeking arrest warrants and making arrests.
Dhillon acknowledged the frustration but explained DOJ protocols required them to stay silent while the judge considered Lemon's case.
Then Kelly asked the question everyone wanted answered: Is Lemon actually off the hook?
Then Dhillon dropped the hammer.
"He is not out of legal jeopardy. And he has lawyered up, he has a prominent lawyer. And we're going to pursue this to the ends of the earth."
Two words: "ends" and "Earth."
Lemon hired Abbe Lowell, the same attorney who represented Hunter Biden.
That tells you everything about how seriously he's taking this threat.
The DOJ has multiple paths forward.
They can take the case to a grand jury, which doesn't convene in Minneapolis until next week.
They can appeal Micko's decision to the chief judge of the district.
They can gather additional evidence and resubmit the complaint.
Or they can pursue other charges beyond the FACE Act.
Dhillon made clear the magistrate's refusal was just a speed bump, not a dead end.
And the Trump administration isn't backing down from leftists who think they can disrupt church services without consequences.
Biden spent four years prosecuting grandmothers for praying outside abortion clinics while ignoring attacks on churches.
Trump's DOJ is flipping that script.
Now it's Don Lemon's turn to see what equal enforcement of the law actually looks like.
Sources:
- Jason Cohen, "Harmeet Dhillon Tells Megyn Kelly DOJ Will Pursue Don Lemon Charges To 'Ends Of The Earth' After Judge Balks," Daily Caller, January 23, 2026.
- Bill Melugin, "Minnesota magistrate judge rejects charges against Don Lemon over anti-ICE church protest, blocks some charges for 2 protesters," CBS News, January 22, 2026.
- Mike Davis, "Don Lemon accused of violating FACE Act in St. Paul church disruption," Fox News, January 21, 2026.
- "How The Law Weaponized Against Pro-Lifers Could Be Used To Prosecute Anti-ICE Agitators," The Daily Wire, January 21, 2026.
- "Judge Who Blocked Don Lemon Arrest Linked to Minnesota AG," Washington Examiner, January 23, 2026.
