DOJ Probes Church Protesters & ‘Havana Syndrome’ Revelations | 1.20.26

Summary

Morning Wire Podcast Summary

Episode Title: DOJ Probes Church Protesters & ‘Havana Syndrome’ Revelations
Date: January 20, 2026
Hosts: John Bickley & Georgia Howe

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Episode Overview

This Morning Wire episode covers three major news stories:

1. The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation into protesters who disrupted a Minnesota church service, including the involvement of former CNN anchor Don Lemon.
2. Sweeping political changes in Virginia, focusing on new Democratic leadership and legislative priorities.
3. Significant new developments in the mysterious “Havana Syndrome,” including reports that the Pentagon has obtained a device believed to cause its symptoms.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. DOJ Probes Church Protesters in Minnesota

Timestamps: 02:31 – 07:07

• Incident Overview:

  • A group of anti-ICE activists, joined by former CNN anchor Don Lemon, disrupted a Sunday morning service at City’s Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, demanding congregants condemn ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) due to one of the staff pastors also being an ICE field director.
  • The protest caused the service to be canceled, particularly after children began crying out of fear.
    • (Megan Basham, 03:20): “The protesters accused the church of supporting ICE because one of their staff pastors also happens to be a field director for ICE’s St. Paul office... lead pastor Jonathan Parnell ultimately had to cancel the service once the children who were there watching the sermon started crying.”

• Protester Organization:

  • Protesters are linked to groups such as Black Lives Matter and the Racial Justice Network — organizations previously active during the George Floyd protests.
  • William Kelly, cited as a ringleader, is described as a paid protester with a history of harassing churches, particularly Christ Church in D.C.
    • (Megan Basham, 04:22): “One of the ringleaders, as I reported for the Daily Wire, is a paid protester who has a history of harassing churches... For months on end, they have screamed at church members through a bullhorn.”

• Notable Quotes:

  • (Protester, 03:20): “Where are you? You drink your coffee, you got your jewelry, you have your nice clothes, but what do you do? What do you do to stand for your Somali and Latino community?”
  • (Protester at D.C. church, 05:02): “How dare you have a rainbow umbrella, you Nazi.”

• Legal Action & Free Speech:

  • Police monitored the protest but made no arrests, balancing free speech with worshippers’ rights.
  • DOJ Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dillon noted the First Amendment does not protect trespassing inside a house of worship:
    • (Harmeet Dillon, 06:29): “I feel like I have to give a First Amendment one-on-one primer to people including journalists like Don Lemon, because you don’t have a First Amendment right to trespass and invade a house of worship. It’s literally illegal to do that, and it’s not protected by the First Amendment.”
  • The DOJ is investigating charges under federal civil rights laws and the FACE Act (protects worshippers from intimidation), with assurances that federal prosecution will proceed even if Minnesota authorities do not.
    • (Megan Basham, 06:45): “Attorney General Pam Bondi also says the DOJ is now investigating these protesters, including Lemon, for violations of federal civil rights laws and the FACE act... even if Minnesota does not prosecute, federal authorities will.”

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2. Democratic Policy Shifts in Virginia

Timestamps: 07:10 – 10:21

• Political Transition:

  • Virginia now has a Democratic Governor (Abigail Spanberger), Attorney General (Jay Jones), and holds both legislative houses.
    • (Cameron Arcan, 07:23): “Virginia has officially now shifted from a Republican governor’s office to a Democratic one, and Democrats have control of both houses there.”

• Policy Actions:

  • Immigration: New Governor ended state police cooperation with ICE, reversing a Trump-era policy put in place by previous Governor Glenn Youngkin to ease federal-state collaboration on deportation.
    • (Host 1, 07:43): “One of the first things Abigail Spamberger did as governor was... to end the state police cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
  • Redistricting: Attorney General Jay Jones issued a legal opinion supporting mid-decade redistricting, potentially reducing Republican representation ahead of midterms.
    • (Host 1, 08:43): “Virginia General assembly is looking at possibly putting up for a vote mid-decade redistricting... it would essentially take away four GOP favored seats in the state.”
  • Abortion Rights: Democrats are proposing a state constitutional amendment to ensure abortion rights, aiming to put it on the ballot.
    • (Host 1, 09:35): “A proposed constitutional amendment to guarantee a right to an abortion in the state of Virginia... now that Democrats have a trifecta in the state... a whole host of liberal policies [could] make their way through more successfully.”

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3. ‘Havana Syndrome’ and Pentagon Revelations

Timestamps: 10:24 – 14:52

• Background on Havana Syndrome:

  • Since 2016, US personnel (military, diplomats, intelligence, and even their children) have suffered mysterious symptoms akin to head trauma after exposure to high-pitched noises, especially in Cuba and during diplomatic assignments worldwide.
    • (Host 2, 10:48): “Havana Syndrome started back in 2016... head trauma... symptoms similar to those experienced by football players or car crash victims, but they could not figure out what was causing them...”

• New Evidence & Pentagon Actions:

  • Last year, the Pentagon secretly acquired a device that emits high-frequency pulsed radio waves, believed to replicate the effects seen in victims — and it reportedly contains Russian components. The acquisition hints at a foreign adversary’s involvement.
    • (Host 2, 12:44): “The Pentagon secretly purchased a device that emits high frequency pulsed radio waves... reports say it cost in the eight figure range and was acquired covertly... it reportedly contains, you guessed it, Russian components.”
  • Victims and advocates feel vindicated, after years of denial by US intelligence services.
    • (Mark Polymeropoulos, 13:35, as quoted): “If the U.S. government has indeed uncovered such devices, then the CIA owes all the victims a major and public apology for how we've been treated as pariahs.”

• Recent Developments:

  • Unconfirmed testimony suggests the device may have been deployed during a recent security operation involving Venezuelan President Maduro, incapacitating guards with “a very intense sound wave.”
    • (Host 2, 13:54): “Unconfirmed testimony from an alleged Venezuelan security guard claimed that he and others... were incapacitated by a, quote, very intense sound wave that made him and the others, ‘feel like my head was exploding from the inside.’”
  • Congress demands the Pentagon account for how it acquired the device and publish its findings.
    • (Host 2, 14:16): “House Homeland Security Committee launched a new investigation... demanding the Pentagon provide them with a... detailed explanation of the procurement process... along with the results of their study.”

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Notable Quotes

• On Free Speech Limits:

  • “You don’t have a First Amendment right to trespass and invade a house of worship.”
    — Harmeet Dillon (Assistant Attorney General), 06:29

• On Church Protests:

  • “This isn’t the kind of church where the pastors make statements or join demonstrations or anything like that... this was simply because they happened to have an ICE official on staff.”
    — Megan Basham (Culture Reporter), 03:36

• On Havana Syndrome Discovery:

  • “If the U.S. government has indeed uncovered such devices, then the CIA owes all the victims a major and public apology for how we've been treated as pariahs.”
    — Mark Polymeropoulos (former CIA officer), 13:35

• On the Device:

  • “The Pentagon has been secretly studying this device for the past year... it also reportedly contains Russian components. Which lends credibility to the theory that these symptoms were caused by a foreign adversary.”
    — Cabot Phillips (Senior Editor), 12:44

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Memorable Moments & Tone

• The distress in the church was evident, with descriptions of frightened children and emotional disruption (03:20–04:15).
• The hosts and guests express frustration and incredulity at misunderstandings of the First Amendment, especially by prominent media figures (06:29–06:44).
• The revelation of the Pentagon’s acquisition of a “sci-fi” device and the continuing mystery of Havana Syndrome lend an air of intrigue and validation for victims (12:44–14:51).

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Useful Timestamps

• Church Protest Coverage: 02:31 – 07:07
• Virginia Political Changes: 07:10 – 10:21
• Havana Syndrome Breakthrough: 10:24 – 14:52

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Conclusion

This episode of Morning Wire delivers in-depth reporting on escalating culture clashes affecting houses of worship, sweeping Democratic policy moves in Virginia, and the explosive revelation that US authorities may finally have proof linking mysterious ailments of diplomats to a specific device — raising more questions about international accountability and domestic transparency. The hosts maintain a brisk, factual, yet engaged tone, emphasizing the real-world impact and emotional stakes of each story.

Transcript

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[Host 1]

Renee Good Renee Good Renee Good the.

[Narrator/Anchor]

DOJ is vowing charges for rioters who disrupted a local church service as chaos in Minneapolis continues to escalate.

[Host 1]

We are investigating exactly who they are.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Who coordinated with them, who paid for it and who was there. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley. It's Tuesday, January 20th, and and this is Morning Wire.

[Political Reporter]

Virginia is bracing for a turbulent legislative session as Democrats roll out a slew of controversial bills.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Executive action alone is not enough to deliver lasting relief. We need legislation. And new evidence comes to light about the so called Havana Syndrome, with the Pentagon now reportedly owning the futuristic weapon.

[Political Reporter]

Thanks for waking up with MORNING Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to.

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[Political Reporter]

Netsuite.Com MorningWire Federal authorities are investigating after anti ICE activists stormed a church service in Minnesota. The protesters, accompanied by former CNN anchor Don Lemon, interrupted worship and demanded that congregates Condemn ice.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Joining us with further details is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham. So, Megan, just to start, can you walk us through this scene inside the church?

[Culture Reporter Megan Basham]

Yeah, Georgia. So this unfolded during the Sunday morning worship service at city's church in St. Paul, and that's a Southern Baptist congregation. A group of anti ICE activists entered the sanctuary mid service and they started chanting and shouting accusations and basically demanding that the church members present. Condemn ice.

[Host 1]

People, why are you not at Whipple every day fighting for the humanity, standing for our people? Where are you? You drink your coffee, you got your jewelry, you have your nice clothes, but what do you do? What do you do to stand for your Somali and Latino community?

[Culture Reporter Megan Basham]

So the protesters accused the church of supporting ICE because one of their staff pastors also happens to be a field director for ICE's St. Paul office. But I spoke to the founding pastor of this church and several other people associated with it, and they told me that this is not what you would think of as a culture warring church. This isn't the kind of church where the pastors make statements or join demonstrations or anything like that. So this was simply because they happened to have an ICE official on staff. In fact, lead pastor Jonathan Parnell ultimately had to cancel the service once the children who were there watching the sermon started crying. One source told me that these kids were terrified.

[Narrator/Anchor]

So what do we know about these protesters? Who are they? And was there any kind of organization that put this together?

[Culture Reporter Megan Basham]

Yeah, Georgia, this does look to be somewhat organized. Several of these protesters are associated with groups like Black Lives Matter and the Racial Justice Network. So the same groups who rioted and protested over the death of George Floyd. In fact, one of the ringleaders, as I reported for the Daily Wire, is a paid protester who has a history of harassing churches. William Kelly and his group of activists regularly protest outside Christchurch in D.C. because War Secretary Pete Hegseth attends there. For months on end, they have screamed at church members through a bullhorn, doing things like shouting obscenities at church members as they try to enter the sanctuary with their families.

[Host 1]

How dare you have a rainbow umbrella, you Nazi.

[Host 2]

You indoctrinate these children so you can them.

[Host 1]

Isn't that what it is?

[Culture Reporter Megan Basham]

Now, Pastor Joe Rigney is actually connected to both of these churches. He was a founder and longtime pastor of city's church in St. Paul, and he also helped plant Christ Church in D.C. and he's preached there as well. And he told me that these attacks in D.C. have at times been so protesters ruptured a church member's eardrum and he had to go to the hospital. Rigney says that these are paid agitators who are basically going to take any excuse they can to protest and harass.

[Political Reporter]

Churches because of the George Floyd riots. The Black Lives Matter organizations were already sort of there and have just kind of been latent and inactive. And then now there's a new thing that kind of triggered them.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Now, has law enforcement stepped in in any capacity to prevent some of this, or is this just considered free speech?

[Culture Reporter Megan Basham]

Yeah. So no one has been arrested yet. Local police monitor the protest, but they said that they made no arrests as demonstrators left the building because they were working to balance respect for free speech with the rights of the congregations to freely worship. Don Lemon, former CNN anchor who was with these protesters as they stormed into the church in Minnesota, is also claiming that he was simply there to document free speech. But the Department of Justice feels pretty differently. DOJ Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dillon told the Daily Wire that LE is absolutely wrong.

[Host 1]

I feel like I have to give a First Amendment one on one primer to people including journalists like Don Lemon, because you don't have a First Amendment.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Right to trespass and invade a house of worship.

[Host 1]

It's literally illegal to do that, and.

[Narrator/Anchor]

It'S not protected by the First Amendment.

[Culture Reporter Megan Basham]

Attorney General Pam Bondi also says the DOJ is now investigating these protesters, including Lemon, for violations of federal civil rights laws and the FACE act, which protects worshipers from intimidation. She says that even if Minnesota does not prosecute, federal authorities will.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Well, I would send a message if Don Lemon was affected by that. Megan, thanks for reporting.

[Culture Reporter Megan Basham]

Yep, my pleasure.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Virginia swore in its Democratic slate of leaders over the weekend, including Governor Abigail Spanberger and Attorney General Jay Jones. And they and their congressional counterparts are laying out a heavily progressive agenda for the state.

[Political Reporter]

Daily Wire political reporter Cameron Arcan joins us now to discuss. Welcome, Cameron. So Virginia has officially now shifted from a Republican governor's office to a Democratic one, and Democrats have control of both houses there. First, there was a major immigration action. The new Governor Spanberger took right off the bat. What exactly did she do?

[Host 1]

Yes, so one of the first things Abigail Spamberger did as governor was something she had promised for some time now, which was to end the state police cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Now, this was something that Governor Glenn Youngkin signed last year when Trump took office to basically foster cooperation between the state police and the federal government when it came to those deportation efforts. Now, this is largely due to the fact that there's a lot of District attorneys in Northern Virginia who disagree with a lot of the immigration policies of the Trump administration. So what this essentially did was it allowed for another degree of cooperation between the federal and the state government in a way that might have been more difficult under previous leadership.

[Political Reporter]

So this is a move toward sort of sanctuary policies away from the cooperation that Glenn Youngkin had offered.

[Host 1]

Correct.

[Political Reporter]

There was also some early action taken by Democrats in the state related to redistricting. What's going on there?

[Host 1]

Yes. So one of the first things Attorney General Jay Jones did was issue a legal opinion in support of redistricting. Now the Virginia General assembly is looking at possibly putting up for a vote mid decade redistricting likely. We've seen in California and Texas. Now what this move would do is it would essentially take away four GOP favored seeds in the state of Virginia as we barrel toward the midterm election. Now, mid decade redistricting has been very controversial, but obviously this legal opinion is one of the first steps toward potentially getting the ball rolling for getting Virginia voters to decide whether or not that will move forward in the November election.

[Political Reporter]

We've also seen Democrats in the state propose a number of other pretty significant laws. What other actions are they seeking to take?

[Host 1]

Another thing that could potentially end up on the ballot, and we've seen this in Arizona and other states, would be a proposed constitutional amendment to guarantee a right to an abortion in the state of Virginia. So that would be the first and foremost thing. But something to really pay close attention to is now that Democrats have a trifecta in the state. Before there was tension between Youngkin and the Democrats in the General Assembly. Now that there's a trifecta, we could see a whole host of liberal policies being able to make their way through more successfully under the Spamberger administration. So pay very close attention to what bills we could potentially see making their.

[Political Reporter]

Way through as you've laid out a lot of drastic changes here proposed by Democrats now that they're fully in power in the state. Thank you so much for joining us, Cameron.

[Host 1]

Thank you.

[Political Reporter]

The Pentagon believes it may have solved a decade long mystery surrounding Havana Syndrome. Mysterious ailment impacting U.S. personnel stationed around the world.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips is here with more. So Cabot, for longtime listeners, you have been covering this story for almost five years now and finally we have a few more answers. So can you just give us some background of what Havana Syndrome is?

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

This story is equal parts terrifying and fascinating. As far as we know, Havana Syndrome started back in 2016. That is when everyone from American military officers to diplomats, CIA agents and even White House staff suddenly began reporting bizarre medical ailments that were consistent with head trauma. Doctors treating the patients said their symptoms were similar to those experienced by football players or car crash victims, but they could not figure out what was causing them. And while the symptoms varied, they all had one thing in common. They started after the victims experienced a sudden and overwhelming high pitched ringing in their ears. Some said it felt like they'd been hit by an invisible force field. At first, officials thought that these were isolated and natural medical events. They called them anomalous health episodes in the government. But as time went on, a clear pattern emerged. New victims were overwhelmingly coming down with the ailment while working on sensitive diplomatic events across Europe, Asia, Latin America and especially Cuba. Thus the name Havana Syndrome. The Pentagon has been tight lipped about the total number of cases, but reports say that there have been at least 200 victims, some of whom are the small children of diplomats. Others are now permanently disabled and forced to retire, suffering from severe short and long term memory loss.

[Narrator/Anchor]

So you said the Pentagon has been tight lipped about this, but how have they responded to this possible threat?

[Host 2]

So multiple agencies launched independent investigations. The CIA, for example, initially believed the symptoms were being caused by, quote, direct pulsed radio frequency energy. But last year the intelligence community concluded their years long investigation and determined it was, quote, very unlikely that these symptoms were caused by any foreign adversary. But it seems there's more to the story. New reports confirmed that the Pentagon last year secretly acquired a device that they now believe may be responsible for this ailment after all.

[Narrator/Anchor]

So this was at the very tail end of the Biden administration. They supposedly purchased or somehow acquired a device that they confirmed does this right.

[Host 2]

So in the final days of the Biden administration, the Pentagon secretly purchased a device that emits high frequency pulsed radio waves. Now, we don't know exactly how they got their hands on this thing, but reports say it cost in the eight figure range and was acquired covertly as part of a, quote, undercover operation. Presumably, they got it on the black market. The Pentagon has been secretly studying this device for the past year. And get this, according to cnn, it not only is small enough to fit inside of a backpack, it also reportedly contains, you guessed it, Russian components. Which lends credibility to the theory that these symptoms were caused by a foreign adversary. And it also gives vindication to victims who say that they were gaslit by the Pentagon and told that their symptoms were not the result of an attack. To that point, Mark Polymeropoulos One of the first CIA officers to go public after experiencing Havana syndrome told CNN, quote, if the U.S. government has indeed uncovered such devices, then the CIA owes all the victims a major and public apology for how we've been treated as pariahs.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Now, this was made more interesting by some recent rumors that during the Maduro operation a couple weeks ago, people on the ground were experiencing some phenomena like this. Tell us about that.

[Host 2]

Yeah, here's where it gets maybe even more interesting. Unconfirmed testimony from an alleged Venezuelan security guard claimed that he and others guarding Maduro were incapacitated by a, quote, very intense sound wave that made him and the others, quote, feel like my head was exploding from the inside. Again, that report was not confirmed, but White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt did share it on social media saying, quote, stop what you are doing and read this now. For their part, the House Homeland Security Committee launched a new investigation into Havana Syndrome, demanding the Pentagon provide them with a, quote, detailed explanation of the procurement process used to acquire the device, along with the results of their study into the device and much more. So they in Congress, like many other Americans, myself included, have a lot of questions they want answered well.

[Narrator/Anchor]

And that post on X that Caroline Levitt referred to from the alleged security detail officer, it is stunning. If you haven't read it yet, it.

[Host 2]

Is sci fi stuff in real life.

[Narrator/Anchor]

Cabot, thanks for reporting.

[Host 2]

Absolutely.

[Political Reporter]

Thanks for waking up with us. And for those listening to the show, you can also now watch the show free on Daily Wire. Plus, we'll be back this evening with the news. You need to know.

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