George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Wednesday that the left-wing rioters who stormed a church Sunday would be in for “an extraordinary moment” due to bad advice from a state attorney general.
Former CNN host Don Lemon broadcast footage of the incident at Cities Church in St. Paul during a livestream at the church, which was reportedly targeted because one pastor is an official with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Turley criticized Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison of Minnesota, who earlier claimed that the protesters did not face legal jeopardy.
“It will be an extraordinary moment for many of these Minnesotans who just had their attorney general a day ago say that there is no crime here and they could very well be charged very soon,” Turley told Fox News host Martha MacCallum. “The fact is that the Minnesota attorney general was wrong, Ellison said that the [Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances] FACE Act does not apply to churches, it’s an abortion clinic-only law. That is untrue, and they are about to find that out. It does cover churches.”
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“People went to this church with the clear intent in my view to disrupt it,” Turley continued. “They did that, and they supplied all the evidence that the Department of Justice needs, all of these YouTube videos that they eagerly posted or equally watched, and they will be eager to present in court. It is very likely they will proceed under the FACE Act.”
The text of 18 USC 248(a)(2) includes protection of religious services. Ellison told CNN host Erin Burnett during a Monday evening appearance on the network that the anti-ICE rioters engaged in “First Amendment activity.”
“They are clearly not facing any state charges, even though this constitutes trespass and disorderly conduct. Ellison is clearly not going to enforce his own laws,” Turley said. “Keep in mind, this is a state attorney general that once waved around the Antifa handbook and praised them for putting the fear of God into his political opponent. That is who we are talking about is attorney general of Minnesota.”
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon posted on X Sunday, announcing that the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division was probing the incident, including Lemon’s involvement. While Lemon denied Sunday night that he knew the church would be targeted, at the start of his livestream, he appeared to know where the group was going.
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