Legal/Law/Criminal Justice and Reform

Judge Refuses To Sign Off On DOJ’s Charges Against Don Lemon: REPORT

[Screenshot/YouTube/Don Lemon]

Lemon entered Cities Church on Sunday along with several anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protesters who disrupted a church service, prompting the DOJ to bring charges against several individuals for violating civil rights laws. The judge’s refusal to approve the charges has reportedly “enraged” Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is currently in Minnesota and bringing charges against protesters.

“The attorney general is enraged at the magistrate’s decision,” a source told CBS News.

BREAKING: A federal magistrate has REFUSED to sign off on the DOJ’s charges against Don Lemon, per multiple reports

Just another activist judge running cover for leftists!

There are SEVERAL other avenues AG Bondi can take to charge Lemon, and she intends to take them, per… pic.twitter.com/Pul7lXdMdk

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 22, 2026

Bondi announced that three individuals—Chauntyll Louisa Allen, Nekima Levy Armstrong and William Kelly—have been charged in connection to the church disruption. She stated that Armstrong is alleged to have played a key role in organizing the protest, which she classified as being a “coordinated attack” on the church.

A source at the DOJ told CBS News that the agency will find other ways to charge Lemon.

The protesters entered the church after learning that the pastor was an ICE official. The large crowd entered the building during a service and shouted, “Justice for Renee Good,” who was fatally shot by an ICE agent on Jan. 7 after hitting him with her vehicle. The agent suffered from internal bleeding to the torso as a result of the incident.

Lemon argued that all he did was “commit an act of journalism” by going inside, though his prior knowledge of the protesters’ plans may implicate him in criminal activity, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said on “The Benny Johnson Show” Monday.

The DOJ has looked into whether the protesters violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act, which prohibits the obstruction of houses of worship and religious services and criminalizes conspiring against a person’s civil rights.