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Attorney General Pam Bondi pushed back Saturday against criticism of the First Amendment after the Trump administration arrested journalist Don Lemon and other anti-ICE protesters accused of attacking a Minnesota church, warning that attacks on houses of worship will not be tolerated.
“When we say God bless America, we mean it. We will protect America, and if you do that in any house of worship in this country, we will find you. We will charge you, and I will prosecute you,” he said on My View with Lara Trump.
His comments come at a time when he was criticized that the arrest of these abusers violated the rights of the First Amendment, which he dismissed pointing to Title 18’s Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996 as evidence to the contrary.
“And you have a First Amendment right to worship freely and safely. On Sunday morning, all the worshipers, many of them thought they were going to be involved in a mass shooting. They didn’t know what was going on,” he said.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi holds a news conference at the Department of Justice on Thursday, December 4, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“People have a right to go to church, synagogue, mosque, wherever you worship and feel safe there, and under the administration of Donald Trump, we’re going to do that for them.”
Bondi described the incident as a coordinated plan that happened when families came to pray, protesters went to church, entered and sat in houses near those who were there to worship.
“These believers are entering, they didn’t see that they had entered. They had some of these attackers with them, sitting next to them in the seats. They are there to worship God,” he said.
According to Bondi, this group stormed the church from many places, shouted at the same time during the service, and the brothers were left trying to stay safe.
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Anti-ICE protesters attacked Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn., disrupted services last month. (Verified UGC, Black Lives Matter Minnesota via Associated Press)
He said parents were temporarily prevented from reaching their children at Sunday school, while others were prevented from leaving as there was panic in the sanctuary.
“Some of these lucky women went out through the side door, falling on the snow, legs pointing up. One woman injured her arm so badly that she had to go to the hospital,” he recounted.
“Congregants were prevented from leaving the church. Don Lemon, in the video, blocked one of them. Screaming, yelling at the pastor. That is illegal in this country.”
Lemon, a former CNN anchor, was there case in Los Angeles Friday afternoon for alleged conspiracy to violate constitutional rights and alleged violation of the FACE Act.
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Now a freelance journalist, Lemon said he attended the protest as a journalist, not as a protester. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Lemon said, “I’m just here filming, I’m not part of the team. … I’m a reporter.”
Lemon and his defense attorneys argued that the arrest violated his First Amendment rights.
Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
