Don Lemon’s latest attempt to claw his way back into the spotlight may have just landed him in the crosshairs of the Department of Justice.
After the former CNN host participated in a radical disruption of a Sunday church service in Minnesota, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon dropped a legal bombshell on Monday: The DOJ is actively reviewing whether Lemon and the activists he “embedded” with violated federal civil rights laws—including the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act.
The incident unfolded Sunday in Minneapolis, where Lemon livestreamed himself joining an anti-deportation mob that stormed a church, harassed the pastor, and sent congregants fleeing from the sanctuary.
While Lemon has since tried to hide behind the First Amendment—claiming he merely committed an “act of journalism”—law enforcement isn’t buying the excuse.
READ: Don Lemon Melts Down Over DOJ Probe, Insists ‘Traumatic’ Church Raid Was Just News Coverage
In a candid interview with Benny Johnson on Monday, Dhillon dismantled Lemon’s defense, suggesting his own footage proves he wasn’t a neutral observer, but a willing co-conspirator.
“Some of these folks who did this have self-identified. Don Lemon himself said he knew exactly what was going to happen inside that facility,” Dhillon explained. “He went into the facility, and then he began, quote-unquote, ‘committing journalism,’ as if that’s sort of a shield from being … an embedded part of a criminal conspiracy.”
The “Journalism” Shield Crumbles
The problem for Lemon isn’t just that he was there; it’s what he said before the chaos started.
In his own livestream, Lemon was caught strategizing with his team, admitting that the disruption was a “surprise operation” designed to catch the church off guard. “If they see me, they’re going to know,” Lemon whispered from a vehicle before the raid, debating whether entering the building would blow the activists’ cover.
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He even bragged to his audience about the group’s history of confrontation, noting they have been using these tactics “since George Floyd.”
“What I said was going to happen happened,” Lemon gloated after the service was successfully shut down.
According to Dhillon, that foreknowledge is the smoking gun. By coordinating with the disruptors to maximize the impact of the “surprise,” Lemon may have crossed the line from reporter to accomplice.
Turning the Tables with the KKK Act
The specific statutes on the table are heavy hitters.
Dhillon cited the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act—which, despite its name, explicitly prohibits the obstruction of houses of worship—and the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871.
The KKK Act was originally designed to stop the Klan from conspiring to deprive Americans of their civil rights. In a twist of legal irony, it could now be used against a modern progressive mob and a media figure who allegedly conspired to strip Christians of their right to peaceful worship.
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