Don Lemon's Act of 'Committing Journalism' Will Have Him Lawyering Up [WATCH]

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said federal authorities intend to pursue charges following a protest at a place of worship, including potential use of the Ku Klux Klan Act, during an exchange with media host Benny Johnson.

Dhillon said investigators are reviewing a range of possible federal violations connected to the incident, including conduct she said may support enhanced charges beyond the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.

“We will pursue charges,” Dhillon said.

“In this case, I see, I see various crimes that have occurred, exactly what they are. I’m not going to flag, but the face Act has been mentioned as one of the predicates there.”

Dhillon said prior actions by the Biden Justice Department demonstrate how the Klan Act has been paired with the FACE Act to increase sentencing exposure.

“In other cases, the Biden DOJ used the Klan Act conspiracy charges tacked on to the FACE Act, in the case of protests outside abortion clinics to bring much longer sentences,” she said.

She outlined additional factors investigators are examining as potential predicates for federal charges.

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“So there are a number of tools available to us who funded this. What else? What other crimes may have occurred? Was there a use of the wires or the mails in preparing for this event? Did anyone cross state lines to do this?” Dhillon said.

“All of those are potential predicates for additional federal charges.”

Johnson responded by asking Dhillon to explain the Klan Act, noting its historical origins and how it may apply to the incident.

“Just pulled up the Klan act, because this is the first time that I’ve heard this mentioned,” Johnson said.

“This is a Act that was passed in 1871 correction there to come at the Ku Klux Klan and protect African Americans voting rights, especially the Enforcement Act, which is known as the force act.”

Johnson said the video evidence appears to show violations of the FACE Act and asked how the Klan Act could apply.

“So it seems like an obvious face act violation, but the Klan act, here it is on screen, first time I’ve heard it mentioned,” Johnson said.

“Can you unpack this for us?”

Dhillon described the statute as a cornerstone of federal civil rights enforcement.

“Yeah, the Klan act is one of the most important federal civil rights statutes,” she said.

“And it goes back to the time when President Lincoln emancipated the slaves, and yet the southern states, Dixiecrats mainly, were refusing to give them equal rights.”

She said the law was designed to prevent coordinated efforts to violate civil rights.

“So the Klan Act is a law that makes it illegal to terrorize citizens, to violate their civil rights, to get together and conspire to violate the civil rights,” Dhillon said.

Dhillon said the statute has historically been applied to law enforcement misconduct but is not limited to that context.

“It is often used against law enforcement, but is now used against others as well,” she said.

She explained how the Biden-Harris administration applied the statute to abortion clinic protests.

“And so what the Biden administration did is if three grandmas got together to pray outside an abortion clinic for the souls of the people inside, and including unborn children, they would say, Oh, that’s not just a violation of the Klan act,” Dhillon said.

“That’s a conspiracy to violate the civil rights of women going in there to get abortions.”

Dhillon said the result was felony exposure rather than misdemeanor charges.

“And so we’re going to add additional charges and punish that more and make it from a misdemeanor under the face act to a felony under the Klan act,” she said, noting that President Donald Trump later pardoned those protesters.

Dhillon cited her own litigation experience defending application of the statute in other cases.

“I have recently defended successfully in the 11th Circuit a case called Oropesa, a case of Jane’s revenge the pro abortion protesters violently attacking crisis pregnancy centers in Florida, and we had the court uphold the Klan act, criminal enhancement to the face act,” she said.

She said the investigation into the church protest is ongoing and could involve multiple theories of liability.

“The Klan the face Act, is just the start,” Dhillon said.

“Like I said, you have material support for disruptive activities, you have conspiracy to violate civil rights. You have potentially the use of other instrumentalities to commit crimes.”

Dhillon also referenced public statements made by Don Lemon.

“Some of these folks who did this have self identified Don Lemon himself has come out and said he knew exactly what was going to happen inside that facility,” she said.

She said Lemon’s claim of journalism does not insulate participants from criminal exposure.

“He went into the facility, and then he began, quote, unquote, committing journalism, and as if that’s sort of a shield from being a part and embedded part of a criminal conspiracy, it isn’t,” Dhillon said.

Dhillon concluded by warning that federal enforcement will proceed.

“We’re getting our ducks in a row. We’re putting the facts together. And this is a very serious matter,” she said.