Minnesota’s Democrat Attorney General Keith Ellison is rejecting assertions that anti–Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agitators who stormed a church in his state over the weekend may have violated federal civil rights laws.
Ellison defended the mod, despite the Department of Justice (DOJ) confirming it is reviewing the incident, which appeared to be provoked by former CNN anchor Don Lemon.
Top DOJ officials have said they are examining whether activists who disrupted Sunday services at Cities Church in St. Paul violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act or the Ku Klux Klan Act, both of which carry potential criminal penalties.
DOJ Reviewing FACE Act, KKK Act
The FACE Act makes it a federal crime to use force, threats, or intimidation to interfere with individuals lawfully exercising their First Amendment right to religious worship.
The statute also prohibits intentional damage to houses of worship. The Ku Klux Klan Act similarly bars conspiracies or actions intended to deprive Americans of their civil rights.
Despite those provisions, Ellison argued the laws do not apply.
Appearing on Lemon’s YouTube show, Ellison insisted the FACE Act was meant solely to protect abortion facilities.
“And the FACE Act, by the way, is designed to protect the rights of people seeking reproductive rights,” Ellison said.
“So that people for a religious reason cannot just use religion to break into women’s reproductive health centers.”
“How they are stretching either of these laws to apply to people who protested in a church over the behavior of a religious leader is beyond me,” he added.
DOJ Civil Rights Chief Pushes Back
Ellison’s remarks come as DOJ leadership has taken a far more serious view of the incident.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon has publicly warned that disrupting a worship service is not protected speech and may constitute a federal crime.
“A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest!” Dhillon wrote 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.”
“You are on notice,” she added.
Dhillon has also confirmed she is coordinating with Attorney General Pam Bondi as part of a broader federal civil rights investigation into the intimidation of Christians and interference with religious worship amid escalating anti-ICE unrest in Minnesota.
Don Lemon’s Role Under Scrutiny
Lemon himself has become a central figure in the controversy after entering Cities Church alongside agitators and filming the disruption while claiming to be acting as a journalist.
While Lemon has argued that his conduct is shielded by the First Amendment, DOJ officials have indicated that journalistic status does not immunize individuals who participate in unlawful activity.
In a statement, Lemon disputed the DOJ’s framing.
“It’s notable that I’ve been cast as the face of a protest I was covering as a journalist,” Lemon said.
“What’s even more telling is the barrage of violent threats, along with homophobic and racist slurs, directed at me online by MAGA supporters and amplified by parts of the right-wing press.”
Lemon also attempted to redirect attention back to the fatal ICE-involved shooting of Renee Nicole Good, which sparked the protests.
Growing Divide Between State and Federal Officials
The clash underscores a widening divide between Democratic officials in Minnesota and the Trump administration, which has vowed to enforce federal civil rights laws and protect religious institutions from intimidation.
While Ellison argues the church disruption does not rise to the level of a federal crime, DOJ officials have made clear that houses of worship are entitled to the same protections as any other venue where Americans exercise their constitutional rights.
The federal investigation remains ongoing.
READ MORE – DOJ Puts Don Lemon ‘on Notice’ for Role in Storming Minneapolis Church with Anti-ICE Mob
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