DOJ Considers Charges Against MN Church Protesters AND Former CNN Anchor

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present
Episode: DOJ Considers Charges Against MN Church Protesters AND Former CNN Anchor
Date: January 20, 2026
Hosts: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes
Producer: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the controversy surrounding a protest that interrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, implicating not only the activists but also former CNN anchor Don Lemon. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced investigations and potential criminal charges, citing laws designed to protect places of worship. The hosts break down the protest's motivations, the roles of key figures, the legal implications, and the moral quandaries raised by protesting inside sacred spaces.

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Key Topics and Discussion Points

1. Setting the Scene: An Unprecedented Escalation

• Event Summary: A group of protesters, the Racial Justice Network, entered The City’s Church in St. Paul during Sunday service, alleging a connection between a pastor and ICE operations.
• Video Documentation: The protest was live-streamed and later edited, with Don Lemon present inside the church covering the event.
• Public Outcry: DOJ is considering criminal charges, and the story has attracted national attention.
• Notable Quote:
  • TJ: "How did we get here? This was a mess of an ugly scene that was a mess and uncomfortable for a lot of reasons, but I didn't see this one coming." (03:01)

2. Motivation and Justification of the Protesters

• Reason for Protest: The group believed a church leader was involved with ICE, asserting a moral duty to disrupt the service.
• Protest Tactics: Hostile chanting, confrontation, and emotional impacts on parishioners.
• Ethical Questions: The disruption entered a "new low," targeting a sacred space.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Amy: "Protesting peacefully is an important part of being an American... But to disrupt a church service... There was a righteousness about the protesters." (04:16)
  • TJ: "Everybody has a justification for, for what they're doing and we don't know where it stops." (05:26)

3. The Role and Liability of Don Lemon

• Embedded Journalism or Complicity?
  • Don Lemon accompanied protesters, live-streamed from inside, and later edited and shared the footage.
  • DOJ officials have signaled intention to pursue charges against him, suggesting that “committing journalism is not a shield from being a part of a criminal conspiracy.” (28:34)
• Host Perspectives: Both Amy and TJ express discomfort, noting the difference between covering an event and actively participating or orchestrating it.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Amy: "You see Don Lemon at the beginning... So where is the culpability? How much a part of it are you?" (14:22)
  • TJ: "If the language is... he's clearly embedded." (15:15)
  • Amy: "As a journalist, I would not have done that." (16:17)

4. Legal Framework: Which Laws Are in Play?

• Potential Charges:
  • FACE Act: Initially designed to protect both abortion clinics and places of worship from disruption or threats.
  • Ku Klux Klan Act: From the 1870s, designed to protect houses of worship from intimidation and interference.
• Viral Focus: Social media discussions are abuzz with calls for arrests and references to these laws.
• Notable Quote:
  • TJ: "They also threw out... the Ku Klux Klan act. It's literally called that. The Ku Klux Klan Act." (17:57)

5. Ethical and Social Implications of the Tactics

• Hosts’ Reflections:
  • Debate over whether any cause justifies invading church sanctity.
  • The dilemma of supporting a movement's goals while disapproving of its means.
• Impact on Narrative: The protest has, in the hosts’ view, shifted focus away from the protesters' message and onto their tactics, possibly undermining their cause.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Amy: “I think [a church] should be off limits. If there's any holy grail of don't disrupt, don't incite, a place of worship is sacred.” (22:14)
  • TJ: “When you match the low, this is what happens... I don't know who's right, who's wrong, who has morality on this.” (26:44)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• On Justification and Tactics:

  • TJ: "We don't know where the line is and where we're going to draw one because we've got people out there justifying killings as well." (05:26)

• On the Pastor's Alleged ICE Ties:

  • Amy (reading the protest leader's quote): "How dare you claim to be a pastor of God and you are involved in evil in our community." (10:09)

• On Don Lemon's Involvement:

  • Amy: "Don Lemon at the beginning... he was a part of it from before... He knew what was about to happen." (14:22)

• On Journalism Ethics:

  • Amy: "I can say as a journalist, I would not have done that." (16:17)

• On Legal Grounds:

  • TJ: "It is an act that prohibits the use or threat of force and physical obstruction that injures, intimidates, or interferes with a person exercising the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship." (17:43)

• On Protesting in Churches:

  • Amy: "You're now becoming part of the problem instead of the solution... now they are the story." (24:42)

• On Public Perception:

  • TJ: "Do most Americans look at somebody crashing a church service and go, 'yeah, that's justified?' No, I would say most people would not." (26:26)

• DOJ's Position:

  • Amy: "The DOJ said specifically... Don Lemon himself has come out and said he knew exactly what was going to happen inside that facility... committing journalism is not a shield from being a part of a criminal conspiracy." (28:00)

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Timeline of Key Segments

• 02:38 — TJ introduces the day's main topics: the church protest, DOJ investigation, and Don Lemon's involvement.
• 03:14 — Amy outlines the rapid escalation and rumors around the pastor's ICE affiliations.
• 04:16 — Amy and TJ discuss the ethical boundaries of protest and the emotional impact on the congregation.
• 06:19 — TJ and Amy describe the church, the protest group in detail, and clarify the facts around the pastor’s presence.
• 08:08 — Analysis of live-streamed protest footage and protesters' unwavering justification.
• 10:09 — Quotation of protest leader’s speech, highlighting the confrontation over faith and ICE.
• 12:31 — Discussion of Don Lemon’s role and ensuing criticism, both public and from DOJ.
• 15:08 — Questioning the line between embedding and participating in protest as a journalist.
• 17:43 — Explanation of FACE Act and Ku Klux Klan Act as relevant laws.
• 22:14 — Discussion: Should any cause justify disrupting a church?
• 24:42 — Effect on protest movement’s public image and impact on their cause.
• 28:00 — DOJ's clear pronouncement on potential charges against Don Lemon and protesters.
• 29:02 — Final reflections on nuance, the importance of means as well as ends, and dangers of escalated protest tactics.

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Tone & Style

Throughout, Amy and TJ maintain a direct, conversational, and at times critical tone—reflecting both journalistic skepticism and personal discomfort with blurring lines between activism and disruption, especially in sacred contexts. Their reflections are introspective, at times balancing empathy for protest motives with clear boundaries about ethical conduct and public perception.

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Summary Takeaways

• The protest inside The City’s Church in St. Paul marks a significant escalation in activist tactics and legal scrutiny.
• The DOJ is aggressively pursuing charges under longstanding federal statutes meant to protect worshippers.
• Don Lemon’s involvement blurs lines between journalism and activism, leading to widespread debate about media ethics and criminal liability.
• Although the cause—outrage over ICE operations and deaths like Renee Goode’s—is understood by the hosts, the chosen tactics have potentially undermined public sympathy and muddied the protest message.
• The hosts conclude that, amidst growing polarization, the means of protest matter deeply for both ethical and practical reasons.

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For those who missed the episode: The conversation provides a nuanced exploration of where activism, journalism, law, and public opinion clash in volatile times, using a single, highly publicized church protest as a lens.

Transcript

[Amy]

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[Hunter Woodhull]

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[TJ Holmes]

Hey there, folks, it is Tuesday, January 20, and what is going on in Minnesota? You probably saw this trending all day. Yesterday, protesters interrupted a Sunday church service. A former CNN anchor is in tow. And now the Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation with that. Welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Robes. How did we get here? This was a mess of an ugly scene that was a mess and uncomfortable for a lot of reasons, but I didn't see this one coming.

[Amy]

Yeah, the story grew and grew and grew and now it's exploded with threats and promises of criminal charges against the protesters for going into that church. And Don Lemon, that ex CNN anchor you were just referencing, has been specifically referenced by DOJ officials and his video. His journalism is at the center of it all.

[TJ Holmes]

His journalism. You can't see us, but journalism was in quotations, as we say that because that's a big part of the question. But let's go to what the core of the matter is. Ropes. We've seen protests, we've seen demonstrations. They have been peaceful in a lot of places. We have seen, and excuse me, overwhelmingly they have been peaceful. But we have seen confrontations. Even things that get heated don't sometimes rise to the level of violence. This was not violence here. However, Robes, this is a pretty incredible heated escalation of what we've been seeing on the streets. Look, there's a lot of stuff folks will tolerate you disrupting for whatever reasons you have. You gonna bust up a church service?

[Amy]

Yeah. This was, honestly, I hate to say this, but this is the only way I can describe it. This was a new low. And, and look, protesting peacefully is an important part of being an American and having a free society that is absolutely everyone's right to stand up for injustice in a peaceful way. But to disrupt a church service and to see the video and to see the. There was a. I hate to say this, but a righteousness about the protesters. See what we're doing? We're going up and we're standing up for justice. They believed the pastor, who I don't even think was there at the time, was a part of the ICE operations. That was what the insinuation was. So they were going to go in there because they didn't feel like a member of this church. And certainly a leader of this church should be also at the same time be affiliated with ice. And so they felt justified going in. But you see this situation where you've got Half, half of the parishioners praying and trying to make it go away. You have the protesters disrupting. You have Don Lemon going to throw a microphone in the pastor's face. It was tough to watch.

[TJ Holmes]

Look, we'll get into their justifications because everybody has a justification these days. And you might hear it and go, yes, you do what you got to do, including going into a church. But I'm just saying we, I don't know where the line is and where we're going to draw one because we got people out there justifying killings as well. We have people out there justifying violence. Everybody has a justification for, for what they're doing and we don't know where it stops. But this was in St. Paul. Yes, one of the Twin Cities there where the Justice Department is now investigating a protest at this church. It happened on Sunday in the middle of Sunday church service and it was disrupted. This is called the city's church in St. Paul robes. I looked on their website. This is a, this is a church has been around 100 plus years there now. I couldn't get an idea of how large their membership is. But, but looking at the video, at least this is a medium sized church. And at least this service I saw on Sunday looked like the pews were fairly packed with people.

[Amy]

Yeah, I think, my goodness, after the last few weeks in Minneapolis, people needed a church service. I think that might have even. Look, who knows how full their pews are on most Sundays. But certainly we've talked in this country about waning church parishioners. Well, it was nice to see a full church, but unfortunately this erupted.

[TJ Holmes]

You know, I didn't think about that little nugget. I'm always happy to see people in church.

[Amy]

Yes, that's a good place to be. And especially during these times, that's, that's an amazing way to work out what we're all dealing with emotionally.

[TJ Holmes]

So these people were in church on Sunday, like a lot of folks were across the country on Sunday when boom. Bust in a group of protesters. Now, by most counts and by my look on the video, certainly not, I wouldn't say 50, but dozens, 30 to 40 possibly were in this group. So they come in. Who are these folks? This is a group organized. They call themselves the Racial Justice Network. This is a grassroots group run by an attorney and a former law professor who is very much outspoken. Now they go here, like you said, robes. They think that a pastor, which I have not seen this confirmed.

[Amy]

I haven't either.

[TJ Holmes]

At least ICE hasn't confirmed it. And why would they? But this group believes that a pastor, one of the pastors, several are listed on their website. They believe he is in charge of an ICE office there. So this is their justification in why they busted up this Sunday service and robes. We don't even know if he was there. And by all accounts, I have seen nothing that suggested he was actually there at the time. He certainly wasn't preaching.

[Amy]

He wasn't preaching. And certainly the pastor that we will talk about later, that Don Lemon interviewed during, while this protest was going on, who, by the way, handled himself very respectfully. But, yes, he. He was certainly not the man that they were looking for or who they were looking to call out.

[TJ Holmes]

Yes. So they walk in 30 to 40. We'll just tell you what, the scenes. All this stuff was live streamed and now all the video. And the group afterwards posted it.

[Amy]

Oh, yeah.

[TJ Holmes]

And edited video and put it up there. Very proud of what they did. So they walk into this church service and robes. That's. This is uncomfortable. I can't imagine being a part of this group. Look, if you're going after one guy, we understand you're upset. But the people are sitting in that church praising the Lord. And folks walked in and you hear ICE out and you hear Renee Goode chants. The pastor tries to combat it. He's up on stage essentially saying, shame on you. Now, he is not as heated as the protesters.

[Amy]

No, actually, he was really calm.

[TJ Holmes]

Give him credit for that robe. So he is saying, shame on you and trying to. It's just a disruptive scene. They would not leave. This went on for quite a while. Robes and a lot of the demonstrators had phones out in people's faces as they were yelling at those people in the church. It was an ugly scene. No, there was no violence. We should be clear here. I didn't see anything even close to that.

[Amy]

It was emotional violence. It wasn't physical violence, but it was. It was emotionally abusive. And I think that is the best way to put it. And again, you can see how justified they felt. They felt like this was what needed to be done. They had to push it or take it to the next level to get the attention. They wanted to have their voices heard, and they've certainly gotten a lot of attention. That was effective.

[TJ Holmes]

And they clearly, based on the videos and based on things they've said afterwards, they're justifying what they're doing.

[Amy]

Oh, they've doubled down.

[TJ Holmes]

Oh, go broke. They are going like, we did nothing wrong based on what ICE is doing to people in the streets. We have the rights, the justification and maybe even duty to come into this church and disrupt it. Because we believe one guy at this church is an ICE officer.

[Amy]

And you've got a quote here. Who said this? Someone who claims to worship God. Teaching people in this church about God is. Is out there overseeing ICE agents. Think about what we've experienced. How dare you claim to be a pastor of God and you are involved in evil in our community.

[TJ Holmes]

That is from the head of the organization that did rush the place. That is the quote she had. And Rose, you saw the video. She. Yeah, she's in there on a. With a speaker on a microphone out shouting. These people in their own church service. She took it over.

[Amy]

Yeah, it. It was. Again, it's tough to watch to go into a place of God and use. It's so interesting to, To. To call out a pastor of God as a. As an evil person or at least committing evil acts and doing wrong and using the church to push an agenda that they believe is evil. But then getting up in a church and calling a pastor evil, it's just. It's like the pot calling the kettle black.

[TJ Holmes]

Well, this is. But this is strictly right. You're a bad person. And the word she used in there. How dare you all. How are you going to come in here and teach about God? How are you going to lead people when you're out there doing that? There's like. There's an impossible balance. If you are an ICE agent, is what she's saying. You're anti Christian.

[Amy]

Correct.

[TJ Holmes]

If you're an ICE agent, you're against God. There's no way you can be Christian and believe in go and also carry out your orders as an ICE agent. That's tough, Robes. That's. We gotta.

[Amy]

You're demonizing an entire group of law enforcement who are following the law, who are performing their duties. It is difficult. And how you treat people and how you arrest people. All. Yes, we can get into all of that. I mean, that does matter. And how you treat people even as you're arresting them matters. I get. I get their point. But you can't just blanketly cast all ICE agents and anyone truly who works for law enforcement under this administration as evil. It's just. It's not true and it's not fair. And that incites more rhetoric which creates and can lead to violence, period.

[TJ Holmes]

And this certainly. Robes. This got more attention because of the Don Lemon involvement. Now, Don Lemon, former CNN Anchorage, who has been. What's the right way to put him? A lightning rod and a Lot of this is intentional. He does go after and tries to have hot takes, and he doesn't mind this at all. Full disclosure, this is somebody we have known for a long time, Robes in the industry. And this is someone who's been a friend of mine for 20 years now. When we first started at CNN. If I got a problem with him and want to criticize Don Lemon, I will call him and I will criticize him. So you're not going to hear that here from us kind of a thing. But we are explaining how he got into this controversy because he does do an online show, Robes, and he was following at least this group. So he says he is reporting from inside the church while this is happening. DOJ says he's like, he's embedded. He's a part of the problem. His response was Robes that. No, I was just there covering it. I wasn't a part of part of it. He has been getting ripped online left and right by everybody for shamelessly putting himself and injecting himself into this. But also Robes saying he's a part of it and that he should also be arrested.

[Amy]

Yes. And the DOJ is also saying that they specifically called him out yesterday, multiple times, saying that he is being looked into and investigated and will potentially face. I don't even think it's potentially. They are saying that they are going to pursue criminal charges. But you see, Don Lemon at the beginning of this was even an edited video that I watched. So again, this isn't. He livestreamed it, but then felt so good about what happened, or at least what he saw that he put an edited version of it online for people to look at. Again. So this is something he's standing by a hundred percent. He's gone on podcasts, he's said this is what needed to happen. But you see him there saying, we, we're involved in an operation that is secret. I was invited to this operation that is secret operation Pull up. So he was a part of it from before. It wasn't like he was with his crew down the street, saw something happening and went to go cover it. It wasn't as if he was in the church and happened to see this, pulled out his phone and covered it. He was with them as they entered it. He knew what was about to happen. And he. So. So where is the role then? What. How would you describe this role? Is he embedded with them? Is he. He said he was invited to go with them into this church. So where is the culpability? How much a part of it are.

[TJ Holmes]

You where is the criminal? That's the question, Rose. Criminal culpability. Where is it? If he is. If the language is. He's clearly embedded.

[Amy]

He's not just clearly embedded.

[TJ Holmes]

Okay, no doubt he knows what's happening, when it's happening, where it's happening, exactly what they're doing, and he knows he wants this coverage and footage. He is not live streaming just to say, let's see what will happen. We know that. So that's one part at least we'll call bullshit on. Because it's documented every. The ride in the car, that video while he's talking to the live stream. Yeah, we're headed to the church. Oops. Was I supposed to say sir Church. He's. He's saying it. We know that, but I don't know. Robes. If you're embedded versus covering. If you just walk in and follow the protesters, Are you doing something wrong? I don't know the rules on that one.

[Amy]

Okay. I'm curious what you or I would do as a journalist. Getting a call saying, hey, we're about to go bust into a church.

[TJ Holmes]

Not walking in that church. Neither am I not walking into a church.

[Amy]

And, you know, I feel very sure because we didn't livestream at this point in our careers. We had crews with us. All our camera crews wouldn't have gone in either. They said, absolutely not.

[TJ Holmes]

There are limits. There. There are some things you don't.

[Amy]

So I. I can say as a journalist, I would not have done that.

[TJ Holmes]

Okay, That's. I mean, it's. We say, you know what? It's weird. We're sitting here, right? If we just happened upon a scene and some chaos, and, wow, there's a news event happening inside. And you go, this is. Wait a minute. Y' all are doing what? I don't want nothing to do with that.

[Amy]

And planned and manipulative. And it's Feels. Look to the point where, you know, that we would even get into something where someone would say something or there'd be some sort of conversation. The cameraman would miss it. Like, can you do that again? And we would say, no, no, no. If you missed it, you missed it. There's no staging. And this was kind of staging.

[TJ Holmes]

It was completely orchestrated. And in addition, they. There's also a video they put out that shows them a staging area in a parking lot. Like, all right, guys, this is where gonna do.

[Hunter Woodhull]

Ready, break.

[TJ Holmes]

It was almost a little huddle, and Don was covering that. Clearly aware, so to say. I was just there to cover something. Okay. Again, this became a part of the story, unfortunately. But robes. This is a big deal in that there is something like what law could they any of them been dragged in on something called the Face act that a lot of people are now talking about. It is an act that prohibits the use or threat of force and physical obstruction that injures, intimidates or interferes with a person exercising the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship. Now it's called the Face Act, Robes, but it was aimed at people who were trying to go after possibly abortion clinics. Right. But it is also protects those who are trying to worship. They also threw out what is this Ku Klux Klan act that some are talking about now? Another act from 1870, something that yes, it protects houses of worship from the Klan. It's literally called that the Ku Klux Klan.

[Amy]

Wow. Didn't even know that that existed.

[TJ Holmes]

Yes. So those are all the reasons. All the but this was a mess and trending all day yesterday was arrest Don Lemon or Don Lemon's name or the Face act or the Ku Klux Klan. Everybody was talking about this. But stay here folks. We hit on a little bit here Holmes, but let's get a little deeper into for just a few minutes. When we come back, is this okay you feel this way? You feel strongly about what ICE is doing, but is it okay to walk into a church on Sunday to protest?

[Hunter Woodhull]

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Llc/Housing lender nmls id 35953 licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Conditions and restrictions. All right, we continue here on Amy and TJ on this Tuesday morning with some, I guess, Monday morning quarterbacking robes. We look at what happened there in Minneapolis and we see a journalist going in as well. But the question there, there are questions for Don Lemon. Let's get away from that for a second. This is one of and again, we have to be careful here robes about. This isn't necessarily a stance on an issue. This isn't about what ICE is doing. If it's right or wrong, if the protesters are right or wrong, if Trump is right or wrong, if Waltz and Mayor Fry are right or wrong. Robes. Where are we now? If I feel so strongly about something, is a place of worship not even off limits?

[Amy]

I think it should be off limits. I think there are places where people should and can explain expect peace. And a church is one of them. If there's any holy grail of don't disrupt, don't incite like a place of worship is is sacred. It is. It embodies peace. It embodies love. It embodies Acceptance. It embodies forgiveness and all of these things that we are trying to bring into our lives in a real way. You go to a church to hear those values strengthened, to be a better person, to be a better human. But. But forgiveness and, And. And brotherhood are just a part of the walls and the fabric of a church. And so to disrupt that and come in, to demand that you think your thoughts and your views are right and that a pastor who's leading a congregation is wrong. And so you have every right to go into his house, into God's house, and disrupt it to prove your point. I just. I don't know if it's criminal. I think it's awful.

[TJ Holmes]

It's so uncomfortable. Robes. And I'm sure there are some people may be listening now, and I'm sure there's some people out there who say it justifies, like, what we're seeing on the streets justifies them doing whatever is necessary. Like, we have no decorum anymore. It's all. Everything is on the table. There is nothing off limits. And I'm saying this was a. You know, the ICE agents are following orders, and I'm sure ICE agents, some of them, I don't think you have to get that aggressive. You didn't have to push that hard. You didn't have to spray that.

[Amy]

You don't have to. Protesters face curse words and all sorts of stuff that's going on.

[TJ Holmes]

Plenty of that. But I don't know why this was. This one was so disappointing because it was a. This wasn't an order given. You weren't following instructions. You write, this is not a part of your job. You made a conscious decision to go into this house and do this thing. It's not even a matter of being religious. You and I don't go to church every Sunday. The robes. There was something about this one that escalated Minneapolis and what we're seeing in Minnesota in a way that scares me just as much as some of the shit we're seeing on the streets.

[Amy]

So, yes. And to what you're saying, the problem is the protesters have. Have a right to be out there expressing their views. And there is a real reason to be angry with what we're seeing on the streets. That is understood. But you are now becoming part of the problem instead of the solution. And I know there's a fine line between having your voice heard, getting attention, getting the media to focus on what you want them to be reporting, not just you're trying to get attention for your cause. I understand that and I get it. But now all the coverage makes. This is making protesters look terrible. You're doing the opposite of what your intention is. The intention is to get people to focus on the travesty that happened with Renee Goode's death. Right? That's what they want people to say. This is horrific. We can't let this happen in our country. But instead, now they are the story and what they've done and how awful they've acted. And so now they have completely muddied the waters, and now they look bad, and now they've given the other side so much to work with. So they have just handed them now a narrative of how terrible and awful and disgusting protesters are. So they have actually completely done the opposite of what they wanted to do. And that is a lesson.

[TJ Holmes]

What is that? Waltz and fry, Please don't give them. Don't give them ammunition. Don't give them an excuse to come in here and do the insurrection act. Okay, in the same vein, you just said you've given them now an upside into the narrative. How can you, like, do most Americans look at somebody crashing a church service.

[Amy]

And go, yeah, that's justified? No, I would say most people would not.

[TJ Holmes]

Would not, no matter what your cause is. And I always think about. And I joke about it sometimes, Michelle Obama's line, which convention was it? She said, when they go low, I joke about it. She said, when they go low, we go high.

[Amy]

Sounds like Martin Luther King Jr.

[TJ Holmes]

Right? When they go low, we go high. And I joke around saying, when they go low, kick them right, because when they're down there already, we don't. You're matching the low. And when you match the low, this is what happens. You don't. It doesn't seem to me now, Robes, after this incident, looking in that church, who's right, who's wrong? I don't know.

[Amy]

Most of those parishioners were completely innocent bystanders who had nothing to do with anything.

[TJ Holmes]

But your mama always say, you can't. Don't argue with a fool, because from a distance, you can't tell who is who. So they're in there trying to point out how bad somebody is, but they're not even there. Who's not there? But they walk in and create a scene that I don't know who's who, who's right, who's wrong, who has morality on this? I don't know. Robes. This one is. I did not see this one coming. We were waiting for things to calm down on the streets, and now things are getting hot in church. And possibly criminal charges for this. And you can argue disrupting Christians. You're trying to disrupt Christians from peaceful assembly. Rose, nobody's gonna. That's not gonna sit well with general Americans.

[Amy]

It is not. And the Justice Department said it will pursue charges. I mean, there was no we might. There was no possibly. And they said, specifically, this is. The assistant Attorney General for Civil rights said, don Lemon himself has come out and said he knew exactly what was going to happen inside that facility. He went into that facility and then he began and he said that, or they said that just because he was committing journalism is not a shield from being a part of a criminal conspiracy. And they're calling this a criminal conspiracy.

[TJ Holmes]

They're using that line. Criminal. What did you say? Journalism. What do you say?

[Amy]

Committing journalism.

[TJ Holmes]

Because he used that phrase.

[Amy]

And they went and threw it back in his face and. And said that. And I, I just. There were images even, and Don might have even pointed it out in his live stream of people who were finally, when this all was over, leaving the church. But like fathers with their arms around their children who were, like, visibly upset. I mean, that. That makes an impression, a lasting impression.

[TJ Holmes]

Again, folks, look, finally, here we are. We are. And again, Ro, this is one of those things where it's difficult to have a conversation because in such a. About such a heated thing, because folks think it's just black or white. You're either on this side or you're on that side. But it's possible, folks, there is a lot in the middle here. And it's okay to a hundred percent support the protesters and their ideas and what they're protesting.

[Amy]

Yes.

[TJ Holmes]

But not be so comfortable with tactics at times that are used. And this is one of those times, Robes, where it just felt like this. This was just. It felt awful.

[Amy]

And what's interesting is, you know, and look, I get it, people are going to dig in. But even upon reflection, I can see how maybe they thought at the time, ahead of time, that this was going to prove their point or be some moment, some aha moment. And then when they see how it all went down and what the reaction was, could they possibly say, wow, maybe that was a bad choice? That's not what we're hearing. We're hearing we did nothing wrong. And you should be putting any anger you're directing at us towards the ICE agents who are doing what they're doing on the streets of Minneapolis.

[TJ Holmes]

It's always uncomfortable when you point out somebody's behavior and then they say, well, look at what you did last week. That kind of a thing. Everybody's done that in their relationship, right? You get into a fight.

[Amy]

Yes.

[TJ Holmes]

Well, yesterday you told me that. Folks, just wanted to give you this quick update about what's happening in Minneapolis. Yes, a long weekend there. We had a holiday weekend. Hope you had a good one. You can look for morning run. We'll have that up here shortly and get this Tuesday going. But wherever you are, hope you are having a good one, folks. We will be talking to you real soon. I'm TJ Holmes on behalf of my dear. With volley from iShares, you get access to both monthly income and growth potential in one simple easy ETF. It's the best of both worlds. Discover Bali iShares Large Cap Premium Income Active ETF iShares the market is yours. Visit www.ishares.com to view perspectives for investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses and other information that you should read and consider carefully before investing. Risks include principal loss and the use of derivatives, which could increase risks and volatility. Monthly income is not guaranteed. Prepared by BlackRock Investments, LLC. Owning a home is full of surprises. Some wonderful, some not so much. And when something breaks, it can feel like the whole day unravels. That's why HomeServe exists for as little $4.99 a month. You'll always have someone to call a trusted professional ready to help, bringing peace of mind to four and a half million homeowners nationwide. For plans starting at just $4.99 a month, go to HomeServe.com that's HomeServe.com not available everywhere. Most plans range between $4.99 to $11.99 a month. Your first year terms apply on covered repairs. It's football season and now you can get anything you need for game day delivered with Uber Eats. Well, almost almost anything. You can't get a running back, but baby back ribs. Yes, Uber Eats official on demand food delivery Partner of the NFL at cvs.

[Amy]

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