Attorney General Pam Bondi delivered a blunt message this week to activists who think political outrage gives them a free pass to terrorize houses of worship: not in America.
Appearing on Fox News Channel’s *Hannity*, Bondi confirmed that the Department of Justice has made additional arrests tied to the January 18 storming of Cities Church in Minnesota — a chaotic incident that shocked parishioners and led to the high-profile arrest of former CNN host Don Lemon. Under the federal FACE Act, interfering with religious worship is a serious crime. Bondi made clear the DOJ intends to treat it that way.
“This wasn’t a protest. This was an attack on a church,” Bondi said, rejecting Lemon’s public claim that he should be shielded from prosecution because he was acting as a journalist.
“So anyone with a camera would be allowed, under his theory, to come in and riot a church on a Sunday morning?” she asked. “You can’t do that in this country. It’s illegal, and you will be held accountable.”
According to investigators, a group of left-wing agitators mobilized after online rumors falsely accused the church’s pastor, David Easterwood, of working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Fired up by social media misinformation, the mob converged on the church while families were attending Sunday services. Lemon, now an independent podcaster after his ouster from CNN, allegedly joined the group as it forced its way inside.
Bondi emphasized that carrying a camera does not convert criminal conduct into journalism.
“Doesn’t matter if you’re a failed journalist with a camera in your hand,” she said. “You can’t do it.”
The attorney general revealed that at least nine individuals have now been charged under the FACE Act, with more investigations ongoing. She described a scene that sounded less like peaceful activism and more like a coordinated intimidation campaign.
“There were children crying. Parents were blocked from getting upstairs to take their kids out of Sunday school,” Bondi said. “A group of women ran out a side door. People fell on the ice. One woman severely injured her arm and had to go to the hospital. Parishioners thought they were going to get shot.”
Authorities say the group met in advance at a nearby parking lot and caravanned to the church — a detail Bondi cited as evidence of planning rather than spontaneous protest.
“This was an attack-style infiltration of a church service,” she said.
For many Americans, the incident struck a nerve. Regardless of political views, houses of worship have long been considered sacred ground. Bondi framed the prosecution not as partisan retaliation, but as a defense of a core constitutional principle.
“We live in the United States of America,” she said. “You have the right to worship safely and freely in a house of worship — whether it’s a church, a synagogue, a temple, a mosque. You will be safe.”
The administration’s response signals a broader crackdown on politically motivated intimidation tactics that cross into criminal territory. Supporters say it’s a necessary reminder that activism ends where violence and harassment begin.
For the families at Cities Church, the legal debate is secondary. What matters is that a Sunday morning service turned into a scene of fear — and that federal authorities are promising consequences for those responsible. In Bondi’s words, the message is simple: churches are not battlegrounds, and the Constitution still applies inside their doors.
