Chaos in the Pews, CNN Hackery, and Lemon Poking the DOJ Bear
Welcome to RedState’s weekly briefing – where we quickly take a look at the most viewed stories of the week in case you missed one. What do you think has got people’s attention as we move forward into this wild and woolly January? Grab a cup of coffee (or something stronger if you like) and sit down with this 21st century weekend edition of your favorite (online) publication.
#1 – Minnesota Muslim AG towards Christians: Church ambushes are ‘just something you have to live with’ — by Teri Christoph
Harmeet Dhillon probably sees things very differently than Ellison. Dhillon noted Monday that the FACE Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act could be used to prosecute those who “threaten”[ed]hurt or intimidate[d] people to prevent them from exercising their God-given rights. »
Keith Ellison knows very well that the attackers had no right to enter the private property of the church and prevent the faithful from practicing their worship. He’ll happily turn a blind eye, of course, as long as the Brownshirts he protects continue to create chaos. Chaos, of course, is Ellison’s justification for seizing more power.
From the aforementioned Alinsky and his Rules for Radicals:
Rule 1: Power is not only what you have, but also what the enemy thinks you have.
Rule 6: A good tactic is one that your employees appreciate.
Rule 8: Keep the pressure on. Never give up.
#2 – Anti-ICE protest leader who invaded Minnesota church just did the stupidest thing imaginable — by Bonchie
Make no mistake, the FACE Act is garbage and has already been used to attack pro-life activists simply for standing outside abortion clinics, but it is Currently the law. Unless the Supreme Court ever changes this, the Trump administration should use every tool at its disposal.
This is what makes protest leader Nekima Levy Armstrong’s decision after the church assault so incredible, and not in a good way for her. Instead of maintaining some denial, she actually posted everyone involved in the attack on Facebook and admitted why they invaded.
She just…posted everyone involved.
And then I pinned it to his profile. Amazing. pic.twitter.com/nukgJ5JZgd
– Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) January 19, 2026
#3 – This CNN Roundtable on Trump Could Land the Network in Legal Hot Water – by Bonchie
It’s hard to imagine the sheer hacking it takes for John Berman to gloss over what Kasky said, which could very well be defamatory, and then present his statement as a perfectly normal side of the debate. I know CNN considers itself a resistance apparatchik, but you’d think they’d have some sense of self-preservation, given that several other networks have already paid a hefty legal price to allow things like this to air. Never mind that Jennings is a far more valuable on-screen asset to the network than a stupid person like Kasky. Perhaps it would be warranted to offer a little more respect to the person who helps keep the lights on. Instead, Berman steps back not in Kasky but at Jennings.
BERMAN: Well, we’re going to talk about the Epstein files. Scott, I’ll do the fact checking as we move forward here. Repeat what you said about the global sex trafficking ring.
You’d think Berman would be more offended by the person who made a potentially defamatory comment that could land the entire network in legal trouble. The fact that his anger is directed at Jennings simply for demanding that the record be corrected is telling.
#4 – Minnesota church stormed by anti-ICE agitators issues statement showing their actions can have consequences — by Nick Arama
Then, on top of that, former CNN media personality Don Lemon, who was there, even attempted to smear the innocent parishioners as “entitled” and linked to “white supremacy” in a later interview, as an apparent justification for the disruption. And he and podcast host Jennifer Welch disparaged their Christianity. It was shameful.
Today, Cities Church in St. Paul released a statement. They took the opportunity to talk about Jesus and explain certain things that the agitators did not seem to understand. I have to tell them that they are taking advantage of the opportunity to put Jesus out, while calling the measures taken against them “shameful”.
#5 – New: Don Lemon Taunts the DOJ and Challenges Them to Arrest Him – Harmeet Dhillon Gives a Revealing Answer – by Bonchie
Lemon is right about one thing: the DOJ will not let this issue go.
When you are allegedly organized with people preparing to commit multiple criminal acts, pretending to be a “journalist” is not an escape card. If Lemon had immediately left the church when the pastor asked him to, he might have more leverage to fall back on. He did not do so, however, and his actions and words indicated that someone was there not to simply document things as an idle observer, but to push an anti-ICE message and support activists, while using allegations of “journalism” to cover up his direct participation in the attack.
Of course, Lemon knows all this. He doesn’t mock the DOJ because he honestly believes he’s not in legal jeopardy, nor does he honestly believe he’ll be the next “Jimmy Kimmel.” He would have to have some semblance of cultural relevance for that to happen, and Lemon is basically as influential as Jim Acosta at this point.
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