“We are going to find you, and we are going to arrest you”
That was the blunt warning delivered by Attorney General Pam Bondi during an appearance on Sean Hannity’s show, as she detailed federal charges stemming from a disruptive protest that turned into what prosecutors describe as an attack on a church in Minnesota.
"If you rioted in that church, we are going to find you, and we are going to arrest you," says @AGPamBondi.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 3, 2026
"We don't live in a Third World country. We live in the United States of America, and you will have the right to worship safely and freely in a house of worship." pic.twitter.com/Ufyj0nqVvX
Bondi said she has spent several days in the state personally overseeing the investigation and securing indictments related to the incident. According to her account, two additional arrests were made, bringing the total number of defendants to nine, including media figure Don Lemon. All nine were charged together in a single indictment.
At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 30, 2026
More details soon.
Bondi emphasized that the case centers on what she described as a coordinated “resistance operation” that unfolded inside a house of worship. She said protesters forced their way into the church while services were underway, with hundreds of parishioners inside, including families, elderly congregants, and children in an upstairs nursery.
“You cannot attack a house of worship,” Bondi said, stressing that the incident went far beyond lawful protest. She described scenes of panic as congregants fled through back and side exits, some slipping on ice outside. One woman, she said, suffered a serious arm injury and was taken to the hospital. Parents were temporarily blocked from reaching their children, and children were reported to be crying as the situation escalated. Bondi also recounted statements captured on video during the incident, including one protester shouting that the church was “the house of the devil.” She said Lemon himself had described the group as being “on their way to a resistance” at the church, a characterization she said aligned with the evidence gathered by investigators. Bondi alleged that Lemon blocked at least one individual from leaving the building as tensions rose.
She said the defendants are being charged under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which also applies to interference with religious worship, and vowed that similar conduct would not be tolerated anywhere in the country.
“We don’t live in a third-world country. We live in the United States of America,” Bondi said. “You will have the right to worship safely and freely in a house of worship, whether it’s a church, a synagogue, a temple, a mosque.”
While protests have erupted in Minnesota in recent weeks amid broader political unrest, Bondi made clear that the administration is drawing a sharp line when demonstrations cross into religious spaces. She said her message applies nationwide.
“If you protested, if you rioted in that church, we are going to find you, and we’re going to arrest you,” Bondi said. “We are going to protect houses of worship. This is not what our country was founded on.”
The case marks one of the most aggressive federal responses so far to protest-related activity tied to religious institutions, with Bondi framing the prosecutions as a warning that attacks on places of worship will be met with swift and forceful enforcement.
