A federal magistrate judge in Minnesota refused Thursday to sign off on a criminal complaint seeking to charge independent journalist Don Lemon in connection with a protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The decision marks a rare rebuke of the Department of Justice’s aggressive charging strategy and has reportedly infuriated U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The controversy stems from a protest inside Cities Church on Sunday, when demonstrators angered by the January 7 fatal shooting of Renée Good — a Minneapolis-area woman killed by an ICE agent during a broader immigration enforcement surge — marched into the sanctuary. Participants chanted slogans like “ICE out” and “Justice for Renée Good,” interrupting the service and calling for accountability.

Lemon, the former CNN anchor now working as an independent journalist, entered the church and documented the protest. He has maintained that he was reporting on the event, not participating in it, invoking First Amendment protections. Despite the Department’s attempt to have a magistrate judge approve charges against him, the judge declined to sign the complaint — a procedural threshold required for misdemeanor charging — effectively stalling the DOJ’s effort to prosecute the journalist for now.

A source familiar with the proceedings told media outlets that Bondi was “enraged” by the judge’s refusal and is considering other routes to pursue charges against Lemon. But for the moment, the attempt to charge a journalist merely for covering a protest has been blocked, raising questions about press freedom and federal overreach.

While Lemon’s charges have been set aside by the judge, the Justice Department has moved forward against others connected to the protest. On Thursday, Bondi announced the arrests of Nekima Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis civil rights attorney and activist, and Chauntyll Louisa Allen, a member of the St. Paul School Board, whom federal authorities allege played key roles in organizing or participating in the demonstration.

Bondi framed the arrests as part of a broader effort to uphold the rule of law and protect places of worship, declaring in a social media post, “WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP.” Officials are reportedly charging at least some of those arrested under federal civil rights conspiracy statutes.

Critics — including Minneapolis elected officials and civil liberties advocates — have condemned the arrests as disproportionate and politically motivated, particularly in light of the ongoing immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota that has sparked widespread local opposition. Some argue the government is focusing its resources on protesters and journalists while refusing to fully investigate deadly actions by federal agents.