Authoritarian regimes arresting journalists they don’t like on flimsy pretences is a hallmark of straight-up fascism. A look around the world will see it repeat time and time again, and now we can officially add the United States of America to a depressing list that includes China and Russia.
Last week, the world shuddered when the news broke of Don Lemon‘s arrest by federal agents for covering a Jan. 18 protest inside Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The church is at the center of controversy as its pastor is an ICE leader, which seems… incompatible with a Christian message of love, peace, and charity.
The non-violent protest passed peacefully, with the disruption consisting of those present shouting “ICE out” before leaving. Lemon livestreamed the event and spoke to protesters and congregants during his multi-house livestream. This was enough for the Trump regime to take him into custody.
Now, faced with widespread disgust with her actions, Trump’s attorney general Pam Bondi is desperately trying to make Lemon out to be some kind of anti-ICE supersoldier on a mission to attack innocent Christians:
Speaking on Fox News, Bondi gave her version of events:
Bondi accuses Don Lemon of "performing an attack-style infiltration of a church" pic.twitter.com/X6oLn01f0P
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 3, 2026
“They met in a parking lot about two miles away while people were filing into this church service they were caravanning to this church to perform an attack-style infiltration of a church service on a Sunday morning.”
She wants him nailed to the wall
She continued:
Bondi: "They bombarded in and as Don Lemon put it in his own words, they were on their was to 'a resistance' at that church. They had a resistance operation. There were originally about 400 people in that church. The lucky ones were able to get out." pic.twitter.com/Gz0vKrfy1O
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 3, 2026
“They bombarded in and as Don Lemon put it in his own words, they were on their way to ‘a resistance’ at that church and that’s exactly what they did. They had a resistance operation. They barged in… There were originally about 400 people in that church. A lot of them ran out the back door. The lucky ones were able to get out. These parishioners thought they were going to get shot!”
Well, I suppose that’s one way of describing a peaceful protest during which nobody was even slightly injured.
Whatever the case, Bondi has staked her reputation on convincing the American people that Lemon is a dangerous and violent criminal who is putting people’s safety at risk. If he walks free, she’s going to look like an idiot (well, moreso), so she’s going to do everything in her power to make sure he gets the strongest sentence possible.
So, if Lemon is convicted on the FACE Act charges and for conspiracy to violate constitutional rights, he’s looking at around 10 years behind bars. Not exactly a slap on the wrist, but it would fulfill Bondi’s desire to show other journalists what’s waiting for them if they dare to step out of line in future.
