Attorney General Pamela Bondi’s announcement on Monday marked a decisive escalation in the federal response to the January disruption at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
With the arrests of Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson, the Department of Justice made clear that it views the incident not as spontaneous protest, but as a coordinated effort to intimidate and interfere with the free exercise of religion. Bondi’s warning was blunt and unambiguous: “If you riot in a place of worship, we WILL find you.”
According to the DOJ, the protest was deliberately aimed at the church because one of its pastors reportedly serves as an official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Federal authorities allege that the defendants conspired to “injure, intimidate, and interfere” with parishioners during a Sunday service on January 18, crossing a legal line that separates protected speech from criminal conduct. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reinforced that distinction, stating plainly that the First Amendment does not grant anyone the right to obstruct or disrupt religious worship.
If you riot in a place of worship, we WILL find you.
We have made two more arrests in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota: Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson.
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) February 2, 2026
The investigation has unfolded methodically, in two distinct phases. The first wave of arrests, announced January 22, focused on individuals described as organizers or facilitators, including a civil rights attorney and a local school board member. The second wave followed a grand jury indictment unsealed late last week, widening the net to include additional activists and drawing national attention due to one particularly high-profile name.
Among those charged is former CNN anchor Don Lemon. Lemon has publicly insisted that he was present solely in the capacity of an independent journalist. Prosecutors, however, allege a much more involved role. According to the indictment reported by The Daily Wire, Lemon allegedly participated in a pre-event briefing intended to maintain operational secrecy, entered the church alongside the first group of protesters, and livestreamed what he reportedly referred to as a “resistance” operation.
The indictment further claims that Lemon physically obstructed the pastor and helped intimidate congregants, later acknowledging on his own stream that the disruption was traumatic for worshippers and conceding that “the whole point… is to disrupt.”
All defendants are facing serious federal charges, including violations of the FACE Act and conspiracy against rights under 18 U.S.C. § 241. These statutes carry significant penalties and reflect the government’s position that the incident was not merely disorderly, but an attack on constitutionally protected religious freedom.
Lemon and several co-defendants are scheduled to make their initial court appearances in Minneapolis on February 9, while earlier defendants are already challenging evidence seizures on Fourth Amendment grounds.
