
Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to back down Friday after a federal magistrate judge declined to sign off on criminal charges against former CNN anchor Don Lemon, whom she accused of “terrorizing” parishioners during an anti-ICE protest inside a Minneapolis church.
Appearing on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Bondi sharply criticized Lemon and others involved in the incident, which she framed as an attack on a religious institution.
“They burst in through all doors, including Don Lemon, and started harassing and antagonizing and terrorizing these parishioners,” Bondi said Friday. “We are coming after you if you participated in that.”
Bondi continued to escalate her rhetoric, accusing protesters of being “staged” inside the church and claiming one parishioner “ran out the back door scared to death and broke her arm.” The attorney general then singled out Lemon while dismissing his claim that he was present only to document the scene as a journalist.
“I don’t care who you are – if you’re a failed CNN journalist – you have no right to do that in this country,” she told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“We don’t live in a third-world country,” she added. “We’re going to protect our houses of worship in this country.”
Lemon has denied taking part in the protest, saying he was there strictly to report the event. “I’m not part of the group…I’m a journalist,” the former CNN anchor said at the time of the protest.
But Bondi on Friday concluded Lemon is nothing more than "an online agitator."
"That's what he is now," she said.
Bondi: Don Lemon is an online agitator… We are coming after you if you participated in that. I don’t care If you're a failed CNN journalist, you have no right to do that in this country. We don’t live in a third world country. pic.twitter.com/md10phgSt1
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 24, 2026




