JONATHAN TURLEY: When Minnesota AG Ellison excuses mob rule, religious freedom is trampled

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison declared Sunday that determination are nary national grounds for prosecuting the mob that disrupted St. Paul’s Cities Church and characterized the behaviour arsenic "First Amendment activity." Ellison not lone supported the protesters arsenic exercising their First Amendment rights successful an interrogation with CNN but also signaled an unwillingness to enforce authorities laws allegedly violated by the protesters, including trespass and disorderly conduct.

Ellison is infamous for his anterior enactment for convulsive groups and has agelong faced disapproval for statements and associations involving extremist movements and figures linked to governmental unrest. Ellison antecedently drew backlash for saying that Antifa would "strike fearfulness successful the heart" of Trump while holding up the Antifa Handbook. His ain son, Minneapolis City Council subordinate Jeremiah Ellison, publically expressed enactment for Antifa in the vigor of the protests this past summer.

A past defender of extremist Louis Farrakhan, Ellison has besides criticized the U.S. Constitution, arguing that "their constitution is the bedrock of American law; it’s the champion grounds of a achromatic racist conspiracy to subjugate different peoples."

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One would deliberation that a mob enactment against a religion would beryllium thing that would transcend governmental divisions arsenic a grotesque and chilling act. If you thought that, you bash not cognize Keith Ellison.

Protesting extracurricular a religion is simply a First Amendment activity. Disrupting worship services, trespassing, and verbally abusing congregants wrong a church constitutes conduct, not protected speech.

Notably, successful the CNN interview, big Erin Burnett raised the incidental mostly successful presumption of its "bad optics," alternatively than focusing connected the underlying onslaught connected a location of worship. Yet Ellison was not adjacent consenting to instrumentality that narrower cue, refusing to entity adjacent connected appearances, fto unsocial connected the denial of spiritual exercise. He insisted that this was "a First Amendment activity" and not a crime.

He is wrong. Protesting extracurricular a religion is simply a First Amendment activity. Disrupting worship services, trespassing, and verbally abusing congregants wrong a church constitutes conduct, not protected speech.

Ellison is expected to enforce authorities instrumentality without favoritism. Instead, helium pivoted to attacking the Trump administration, stating, "If Trump likes you, you tin bash nary wrong." There whitethorn beryllium good-faith concerns implicit criticisms of being unfairly targeted by national authorities. But Ellison’s selective enforcement posture substantially weakens his credibility successful raising specified objections.

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There is not even a proposition of self-awareness as Ellison dismisses enforcement of his ain authorities laws against protesters who trespassed and engaged successful disorderly conduct—setting speech entirely the targeting and disruption of spiritual services.

Putting speech his refusal to analyse oregon prosecute nether authorities law, Ellison has besides declared that determination are nary grounds for national charges. He is wrong. Several national statutes could plausibly use to the behaviour described.

Ellison went connected Don Lemon’s podcast, a erstwhile CNN big who has been denounced for his filming the targeting of Cities Church and his consequent handling of the incident, wherever Lemon appeared intent connected reframing the contention by attacking the religion of the congregants. Lemon stated, "I deliberation radical who are, you know, successful the spiritual groups similar that, it’s not the benignant of Christianity that I practice, but I deliberation that they’re entitled, and that entitlement comes from a supremacy, a White supremacy."

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That connection mirrored remarks from organizer Nekima Levy Armstrong of the section Racial Justice Network, who declared that churchgoers "need to cheque their theology and they request to cheque their hearts."

Ellison nevertheless insisted connected Lemon’s amusement that nary national transgression occurred. He specifically argued that the FACE Act could not use due to the fact that it was designed solely to support termination rights, stating: "the FACE Act, by the way, is designed to support the rights of radical seeking reproductive rights… truthful that radical for a spiritual crushed cannot conscionable usage religion to interruption into women’s reproductive wellness centers."

While it is existent that the FACE Act is champion known for protecting termination clinics, the statute expressly extends to places of spiritual worship, making it a national transgression to prohibit by unit oregon carnal obstruction the workout of spiritual freedom. The instrumentality bars behaviour that "injures, intimidates, oregon interferes with a idiosyncratic seeking to… workout the First Amendment close of spiritual state astatine a spot of spiritual worship." Other national statutes likewise support against the denial of civilian rights.

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Ellison nevertheless told the nationalist that nary specified national laws beryllium and that the FACE Act cannot use successful this case. That practice is, astatine minimum, incomplete and misleading.

Unfortunately, this occurrence reflects a broader signifier for Ellison, who has agelong been accused of tailoring transgression enforcement to governmental priorities.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison speaks during a property conference, aft an ICE cause fatally changeable Renee Nicole Good, successful Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., January 12, 2026. (Reuters/Tim Evans)

Ellison has been criticized for failing to aggressively prosecute what national investigators aboriginal described arsenic 1 of the largest pandemic-related fraud schemes successful the nation. More recently, recordings surfaced showing Ellison gathering with assemblage figures who were aboriginal convicted successful that fraud case.

At the aforesaid time, Ellison has shown a disregard for ineligible boundaries by filing what critics picture arsenic a frivolous suit seeking to artifact national authorities from deploying further unit to analyse fraud oregon enforce migration laws wrong the state.

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Ellison presents a funny exemplary of lawyer general—one who resists enforcing his ain laws portion suing to forestall the national authorities from enforcing its own. It is akin to a doc who opposes the existent medication of medicine.

In that sense, Ellison has travel to embody a politicized exemplary of instrumentality enforcement, excusing mob behaviour portion expressing hostility toward accepted policing.

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Ironically, Ellison has made the lawsuit for accrued national engagement successful Minnesota. By declining to enforce laws against governmental allies, helium has created the precise vacuum that invites national intervention.

At the extremity of the day, it whitethorn beryllium due that Ellison is successful tribunal opposing expanded national enforcement. After all, his behaviour offers immoderate of the strongest grounds for wherefore specified oversight whitethorn beryllium necessary.

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