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Attorney General Pam Bondi blasted former CNN anchor Don Lemon on “Hannity” Monday for defending his “unlawful” actions at a Minnesota church protest against ICE as “an act of journalism.”
“Therefore, anyone with a camera would be allowed, under him [Lemon’s] that they come in and attack such a church and disturb the church on Sunday morning,” he said.
“You can’t do that in this country. It’s illegal, we’ll prosecute you, and you’ll answer. It doesn’t matter if you’re a failed journalist with a camera in your hand. You can’t do that.”
Bondi’s comments follow the arrest of two others in connection with the attack on a Minnesota church by anti-ICE protesters on Monday.
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Don Lemon speaks to the media after a hearing at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles on January 30, 2026. (Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)
“These people have committed crimes under the FACE Act, they will answer,” he explained. “Nine have been charged, and you cannot do this in our country. We will follow you if you do.”
On January 18, hundreds of anti-ICE protesters disrupted a church service in St.
Bondi described it as an “assault-style” attack on the house of worship, detailing how one woman was injured in the incident.
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“Children were crying, some parents were prevented from going upstairs to take their children out of Sunday school,” he said. “A group of women ran out of the side door. Many people fell on the snow. One woman was seriously injured in the arm, and had to go to the hospital.”
“These church members thought they were going to be shot,” Bondi added.
Anti-ICE agitators attacked Cities Church in Minnesota, disrupting services. (Verified UGC, Black Lives Matter Minnesota via Associated Press)
The attorney general said the incident was led by a “repudiation campaign,” involving Lemon.
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““They met in a parking lot about two miles from where people went into the church service,” Bondi told host Sean Hannity. “They were traveling in a van to this church to carry out an attack on the church service on Sunday morning.”
He also accused Lemon of preventing a believer from leaving the church.
According to the lawsuit, all nine people face charges of obstructing the freedom of others to worship under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which protects the right to worship freely in places of worship.
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Lemon strongly denied the charges, saying his presence at the protest was “an act of journalism,” explaining that he was merely documenting the event rather than participating.
“Get out, whoever you think is going to block me from reporting. I’m going to say f— off if you think you’re going to block me from reporting,” Lemon said on Instagram Monday.
Attorney General Pam Bondi warned protesters in Minnesota against obstructing or attacking law enforcement. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters; Tim Evans/Reuters)
“I’m a journalist through and through,” he continued.
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All nine people charged in the case have been arrested, and Bondi said the Department of Justice will continue to prioritize the protection of houses of worship.
“We live in the United States of America, and you will have the right to worship safely and freely in a house of worship,” he asserted. “Any church, synagogue, temple, mosque, any house of worship in this country, you will be safe.”
