Law Professor Jonathan Turley Refutes Keith Ellison’s Claim That There’s No Grounds for Federal Charges in Church Disruption: ‘He is Wrong’ (VIDEO)
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is trying his best to downplay the invasion of a Minnesota church by unhinged anti-ICE activists, going so far as to suggest that there are no grounds for federal charges.
George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley disagrees.
Turley made the point that there are multiple violations here and that Ellison is just acting as if he was a member of Antifa.
Turley writes at his site:
One would think that a mob action against a church would be something that would transcend political divisions as a grotesque and chilling act. If you thought that, you do not know Keith Ellison.
Notably, in the CNN interview, Host Erin Burnett raised the incident due to its “bad optics” as opposed to the outrageous attack on a house of faith. Yet, Ellison was not even willing to take that lead in objecting to the simple optics as opposed to the denial of religious exercise. He insisted that this is “a First Amendment activity” and not a crime.
He is wrong. Protesting outside of the church is a First Amendment activity. Disrupting church services and abusing congregants inside the church is conduct, not speech.
Ellison is supposed to enforce state law without favoritism. Instead, he attacked the Trump Administration, saying, “If Trump likes you, you can do no wrong.” There may be good-faith concerns over critics being targeted by this Administration. However, Ellison is the last person who should raise such objections.
There is not even a suggestion of self-awareness as Ellison dismisses any enforcement of his own laws against protesters who trespassed and engaged in disorderly conduct — putting aside the targeting and disruption of religious services.
Putting aside his own refusal to investigate or prosecute, Ellison has also declared that there are no grounds for federal charges. He is wrong. There are a variety of possible federal laws that could be enforced.
Turley repeated his position during an appearance on FOX News:
Jonathan Turley hits the nail on the head:
“What’s also fascinating is the lack of deterrent from local officials. You know, at a minimum, this is trespass and disorderly conduct under state law. We haven’t even heard from the governor [Walz] to condemn what was a grotesque and… pic.twitter.com/wwb6fvTOD0
— Julia (@Jules31415) January 20, 2026
This is far from over, but Ellison, Lemon, and others are going to face some kind of justice over this incident. They crossed a line.
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