According to Western Journal, the proposed complaint would have named Lemon for his role in the Sunday incident at Cities Church, where a worship service was interrupted and families reportedly fled in fear. One source familiar with the proceedings told CBS News the judge will not sign off on charges, even as federal authorities move forward against other alleged participants.
On Thursday morning, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and federal officials announced arrests linked to what they described as an assault on the church by anti-ICE agitators, including St. Paul School Board member Chauntyll Louisa Allen and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong. A source confirmed that the magistrate judge approved charges against Allen and Armstrong, signaling a willingness to prosecute some protesters while sparing Lemon for now.
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Noem stated that Armstrong is charged under 18 USC 241, a civil rights statute that prohibits conspiracies to interfere with constitutionally protected rights, including the free exercise of religion, CBS News reported. Leftist activists said they entered Cities Church after learning an ICE official appeared to be one of its pastors, turning a house of worship into a stage for political theater.
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Lemon was present when the service was disrupted, and the chaos “caus[ed] congregants and families to flee for their safety,” raising serious questions about equal justice under the law. The Daily Wire’s Mary Margaret Olohan separately reported that Bondi is “enraged” by the magistrate judge’s refusal to sign the complaint against Lemon, a decision conservatives see as yet another example of a two-tiered system favoring media elites.
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Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon later said that Lemon claiming to be a journalist was “not a badge or a shield that protects you from criminal consequences.” As federal civil rights charges proceed against Allen and Armstrong, scrutiny will likely intensify over why a high-profile media figure present at the same incident has, at least for now, escaped the same level of accountability.
