The Department of Justice announced it will be charging internet personality and former CNN host Don Lemon after he crashed a church service in Minnesota, alongside anti-ICE rioters.
Harmeet Dhillon, who serves as U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, said Monday that Lemon will be charged under the “Ku Klux Klan Act” of 1871, and that he already admitted to knowing “exactly what was going to happen inside that facility.”
BREAKING: DOJ Announces Intention to Charge Don Lemon under the Ku Klux Klan Act.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 19, 2026
The KKK Act makes it illegal to threaten, hurt, or intimidate people to prevent them from exercising their God-given rights.
HARMEET DHILLON: "The Klan Act is one of the most important federal… pic.twitter.com/GWnXAMtWc9
Dhillon said Lemon’s claim of being a journalist who was covering a story will not “shield” him from the full force of the law.
The law makes it illegal for anyone to terrorize, intimidate, or harm individuals who are exercising their civil rights. It was originally used to protect newly freed slaves. It is often used against law enforcement, but can also be used against others to bring a conspiracy charge.
Dhillon mentioned how the Biden administration used the “Klan Act” to tack on conspiracy charges in cases where the “Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act” of 1994 was used against defendants.
“We will pursue charges in this case,” she told Benny Johnson. “In other cases, the Biden DOJ used the Klan Act conspiracy charges tacked on to the FACE act in the case of protests outside abortion clinics, to bring much longer sentences. So there are a number of tools available to us.”
Order Amanda Grace’s New Book, “Brace For Impact” on Amazon.com!
Dhillon said the federal government will also investigate who funded this event, if there were any mail or wire services used to organize the rioters, and if anyone crossed state lines, which could lead to additional charges.
She added, “The Klan Act is one of the most important federal civil rights statutes… [It’s] a law that makes it illegal to terrorize citizens to violate the civil rights of citizens — to get together and conspire to violate the civil rights.”
“Everyone in the protest community needs to know that the fullest force of the federal government is going to come down and prevent this from happening and put people away for a long, long time,” Dhillon concluded.
This article originally appeared on The Western Journal and is reposted with permission.
