Top DOJ official says no special carve out for journalists like Don Lemon under the law

YouTuber and ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested on January 30 on charges stemming from his alleged participation in a protest that invaded a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, and there's no cover for him in his role as a "journalist," Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon told Just the News.

"There is no carve out in the statute, or, frankly, in the law for journalists. They don't get to participate in obstructing, blocking, harassing, terrorizing, and generally conspiring to do all of the above and get away with it. The laws in the United States apply to journalists as well," Dhillon said during an episode Monday of the Just the News, No Noise television show. 

"And if you doubt me, look at the number of journalists that the [former AG Merrick] Garland and [former President Joe] Biden's DOJ prosecuted, harassed and went after. They did this in cases that were far weaker than the case we have here. I did not create this law. Congress created the FACE Act, and this Department of Justice is the first in history to actually use it to protect houses of worship as it was intended originally by Congress as one of the protected categories."

The former CNN anchor was indicted by a federal grand jury in Minnesota on charges of conspiracy against rights and interfering with the free exercise of religious beliefs, stemming from his presence and activities during an anti-ICE protest that disrupted the church service on January 18, 2026. 

Dhillon has argued that the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, under which Lemon is charged, provides no statutory exemption or "carve-out" specifically for journalists, applying its prohibitions broadly to anyone who uses force, threat of force, or physical obstruction to interfere with reproductive health services or the exercise of religious freedom at a place of worship, the two environments applicable under the law. 

In Lemon's case, Dhillon has contended that his actions—such as entering the church with protesters, live-streaming while allegedly refusing to leave when asked, and being "embedded" in the disruption—cross into facilitating or participating in the interference, rather than neutral reporting, and that claiming journalistic status does not immunize such conduct under the FACE Act.

Thus far, there are nine individuals who have been charged in connection with the church disruption and protests that day, but Dhillon warned that others are being examined. 

"So there will be more people arrested in this case. I'm confident there are many more who are involved than the ones we've identified so far, and we just will not rest for this in the United States and not allow it to happen."

The number of charged individuals could expand to 30 or 40, according to Dhillon, who condemned those individuals who she noted "interrupted that church service, terrorized children, separated children from their parents, caused people to flee in panic, a full, packed church service, and really ruined it for them and possibly scared some people out of coming back to church."

"We have a zero tolerance policy for anybody interrupting any house of worship, invading it, terrorizing people, or even just blocking them from entering or exiting or putting them in fear," Dhillon warned, and added that it included any house of worship like synagogues or mosques as well.

Dhillon also did not take the possibility of further charges off the table. In his video, Lemon made comments alluding to the members of the congregation as "comfortable white people," injecting racism into the case, which could potentially make other charges available. If prosecutors are able to prove that it qualifies as a hate crime, it would increase the offense level by three points and potentially lead to harsher punishment, including longer prison time. 

Dhillon added, "If further evidence comes to light that allows us to add additional charges, and I won't speculate which, I think you can expect those to follow."

Journalists are not above the law

In a famous 1972 Supreme Court case, Branzburg v. Hayes, a reporter refused to comply with demands and a subpoena for information in a criminal investigation into the Black Panthers. The court held that newspaper reporters have no special immunity to the legal obligations that all citizens have, holding in part that "valid laws serving substantial public interests may be enforced against the press as against others." The case has been widely cited by other courts to make clear that laws apply to all people, whether they are journalists or not.

The U.S. Department of Justice, under Attorney General Pam Bondi, brought the case. Lemon was arrested on January 30 in Los Angeles, was released without bond, and has vowed to fight the charges. 

The FACE Act was enacted in 1994 amid a wave of escalating violence against abortion clinics and was sponsored primarily by Democrats, then signed by President Bill Clinton. The law was designed to federally prohibit the use of force, threats, or physical obstruction to interfere with access to reproductive health services. 

To secure bipartisan support, a compromise was reached to extend identical protections to places of religious worship, even though there were no comparable widespread threats or disruptions targeting churches at the time, although the Jim Crow era saw more than 160 black churches burned across the nation, according to PBS. 

This addition of protecting places of worship helped garner votes from some Republicans, resulting in the bill's passage with provisions explicitly covering both clinics and houses of worship.

Lemon began his career in local news before joining CNN in 2006 as a correspondent before becoming the host of the prime-time program "Don Lemon Tonight" in 2021. His fall from grace came in April 2023 when CNN fired him amid backlash over on-air remarks deemed sexist, most notably stating that Nikki Haley was not "in her prime" at age 51, in addition to longstanding reports of hostile behavior toward female colleagues.

Industry journals noted that CNN paid Lemon $24.5 million on his exit. He now hosts a livestream podcast on YouTube and other streaming platforms.