U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon publicly warned former CNN anchor Don Lemon on Monday after he filmed and reported from a protest that interrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, where demonstrators accused a pastor of working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to reports, protesters—including local activist Nekima Levy Armstrong—entered Cities Church during Sunday’s service and shouted chants such as “ICE out!” and “Justice for Renee Good.” The group focused their protest on Pastor David Easterwood, who is listed on the church’s website as a pastor and was introduced in October as the acting director of ICE’s St. Paul Field Office during a press conference alongside Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“This man is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, masquerading as a pastor,” Armstrong told the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Lemon recorded video inside the church and interviewed Armstrong and Cities Church lead Pastor Jonathan Parnell. During the incident, Parnell asked Lemon to leave the property. Lemon later posted footage of the confrontation on social media.
Dhillon, who leads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, responded with a sharp message online, calling the disruption unacceptable and warning Lemon directly. “A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest!” she wrote, adding that federal criminal and civil laws protect religious services from this kind of interference. She also argued the First Amendment does not shield what she described as “pseudo journalism” that disrupts prayer. Dhillon ended her message with a clear warning: “You are on notice!”
Speaking to Newsmax, Dhillon said two prosecutors from her office were heading to Minneapolis and indicated the department was treating the episode as a serious matter. “This is going to get the highest attention from the Department of Justice,” she said, arguing that the right to worship is among the most protected constitutional freedoms and that federal laws exist to enforce it.
Attorney General Pam Bondi also weighed in publicly, saying she had spoken with the pastor whose church was targeted. In her posts, Bondi framed the incident as intimidation and pledged a federal response, warning that if state officials failed to prevent lawlessness, the Justice Department would remain prepared to prosecute federal crimes and “ensure that the rule of law prevails.”
The protest comes amid wider demonstrations in the Twin Cities opposing the Trump administration’s immigration policies, following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis earlier this month.
Easterwood is also named in a pending ACLU of Minnesota class-action lawsuit that alleges racial profiling and warrantless arrests by ICE agents. In connection with that case, a federal judge has barred ICE from retaliating against protesters.
ICE, in its own public response, claimed “agitators aren’t just targeting our officers. Now they’re targeting churches, too,” and criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for allowing unrest.
Representatives for Cities Church, Don Lemon, and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
