Justice Served for Church Invaders—But Don Lemon Skates Free as Judge Blocks DOJ Charges ... For Now

Thankfully, the masterminds of the church invasion protest in Minnesota on Sunday have been arrested. Unfortunately, one of the main cheerleaders is not facing consequences ... yet.

🚨 BREAKING: AG Pam Bondi and DOJ pushed to charge Don Lemon but a Minnesota magistrate judge BLOCKED it

Bondi is reportedly "ENRAGED" at the decision.

The process is NOT over, though, and other avenues can be pursued to charge Lemon, per CBS

Don Lemon must face justice. If a… pic.twitter.com/iyuUgVUbBg
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 22, 2026

BREAKING - Minnesota federal magistrate judge Zia Faruqui is refusing to sign the Department of Justice’s complaint bringing charges against Don Lemon for his involvement in the raid on a Christian church in Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/2grBG4aByc
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) January 22, 2026

A Minnesota magistrate doesn’t TRUMP a Federal warrant.

Oh and @JDVance is heading to MN today. https://t.co/lcFct6HgX1 pic.twitter.com/34k43jsQTd
— Rick Swift (@rickswift) January 22, 2026

Some news agencies are reporting Pam Bondi plans to continue to look for paths to arrest Don Lemon. GOOD!

Conservatives need to admit 1. this incident is strongly state jurisdiction whether or not Minnesota is engaged in biased enforcement 2. these are small fish despite Lemon's presence. i.e. a Bondi victory would be hollow compared to likelihood for failure. https://t.co/l4EpzbqjPD
— James Harbour 🇺🇸 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (@PlayerTooReady) January 22, 2026

This is false. The law being used to arrest the protestors is 18 U.S. Code § 248. Here is the text of that code:

(a)Prohibited Activities.—Whoever—
(1)
by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person because that person is or has been, or in order to intimidate such person or any other person or any class of persons from, obtaining or providing reproductive health services;
(2)
by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship; or
(3)
intentionally damages or destroys the property of a facility, or attempts to do so, because such facility provides reproductive health services, or intentionally damages or destroys the property of a place of religious worship,
shall be subject to the penalties provided in subsection (b) and the civil remedies provided in subsection (c), except that a parent or legal guardian of a minor shall not be subject to any penalties or civil remedies under this section for such activities insofar as they are directed exclusively at that minor.

One look at part 2 of the code makes it very clear it's a federal crime to interfere with church services. That is what they did.

Easy Fix. Arrest all activist judges just like our good friend @nayibbukele did in his now amazing prosperous country.
— Z (@insatiablevine) January 22, 2026

If he's not charged everybody just needs to claim "journalist" when committing crimes.
— 9FootCouch (@9FootCouch) January 22, 2026

Don Lemon must face justice for what he did
— Cash Loren (@Cashloren) January 22, 2026

Hopefully, AG Bondi will continue to pursue arresting Lemon. He needs to face consequences for participating with these awful people.

NEW: Multiple sources tell me & colleague @davidspunt that the federal magistrate in Minnesota who refused to sign off on an arrest warrant for Don Lemon is Douglas L. Micko and that his wife works as an Assistant Attorney General in Minnesota AG Keith Ellison's office.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 22, 2026

That sounds like a major conflict of interest, particularly since Ellison appeared on a podcast WITH Lemon defending him. Oop!

Makes a lot of sense now pic.twitter.com/KI3dL9ZXn7
— BBallMom🇺🇸 (@boss_lady567) January 22, 2026

The judge needs to recuse himself. There is clearly an appearance of a conflict of interest.

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