Somewhere in the vast expanse of the cosmos, one can almost imagine Saul Alinsky laughing with satisfaction as Democrats provide political cover for radical activists who are trampling the rule of law in Minnesota.
The latest officeholder to earn that imagined approval, while simultaneously undermining basic law-and-order principles, is Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. According to RedState, Ellison, a Democrat, Muslim, and the states chief law enforcement officer, appeared Monday on Don Lemons livestream to discuss the Sunday disruption of services at Cities Church in St. Paul, where a mob of anti-ICE agitators stormed the sanctuary.
Lemon himself may face serious legal exposure over the incident, given indications he may have coordinated in advance with the activists who invaded the church. As Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon explained Monday, Lemon could be vulnerable to federal charges, stating, "He went into the facility, and then he began 'committing journalism.' As if that is a shield from being an embedded part of a criminal conspiracy. It isn't."
During his discussion with Lemon about the church ambush, Ellison offered a justification that should alarm anyone who believes in religious liberty and property rights. Ellison remarked, "None of us are immune from the voice of the public."
Expanding on his view, Ellison framed the episode as a matter of protected expression rather than an unlawful intrusion on worship. "The protest is fundamental to American society. This country started in a protest. It's freedom of expression. People have a right to lift up their voices and make their peace. And none of us are immune from the voice of the public. So I, quite honestly, I think that you've got the First Amendment freedom of religion and First Amendment freedom of expression and I think it's just something you've just gotta live with in a society."
Dhillon, however, appears to see the situation through the lens of federal civil-rights protections, not activist sloganeering. She noted that both the FACE Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act could be used to prosecute those who "threaten[ed], hurt, or intimidate[d] people to prevent them from exercising their God-given rights."
Ellison, as the states top legal officer, knows perfectly well that the protesters had no lawful authority to enter a churchs private property and shut down a religious service. Yet he seems content to avert his gaze, so long as the ideological shock troops he tacitly defends continue to sow disorder that can later be invoked to justify expanded state power.
This is the classic playbook of the radical left: manufacture chaos, then present government control as the only remedy. From Alinskys own Rules for Radicals come the guiding maxims that appear to animate this approach: Rule 1, "Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have," Rule 6, "A good tactic is one your people enjoy," and Rule 8, "Keep the pressure on. Never let up."
If these are indeed Ellisons terms, conservatives might reasonably ask whether he is prepared to live under the same standard he now applauds. By his logic, one could imagine a group of Christians protesting by storming Ellisons mosque during worship, since it is, in his words, "just something you've got to live with" in a free society.
Of course, any such action would be wrong, unlawful, and incompatible with genuine respect for religious libertyprecisely the principles that should have protected the congregants at Cities Church. The point is not to endorse reciprocal lawlessness, but to expose the glaring double standard of an attorney general who treats left-wing intimidation as noble speech while the faithful are told to simply endure it.
The episode also highlights a broader cultural problem: progressive elites increasingly treat the First Amendment as a one-way shield for their own activists, while churches, conservatives, and traditional institutions are left vulnerable to harassment. When the states top prosecutor shrugs at a mob invading a house of worship, it sends a chilling message about whose rights truly matter in Minnesota.
To close on a lighter, if biting, note, critics have taken aim at Lemons post-CNN persona with a viral parody that captures the absurdity of his current role. "Hi friends, this is my Uncle Don. He is unemployed but spends most days talking into his computer, where he says people pay him to comment on the news. We believe he thinks he's some sort of television anchor. A few days ago, he left his home in NYC then appeared on social media pic.twitter.com/KNLPdXj23e" and, "Hi friends, this is my Uncle Don. He is unemployed but spends most days talking into his computer, where he says people pay him to comment on the news. We believe he thinks he's some sort of television anchor. A few days ago, he left his home in NYC then appeared on social media in Minnesota. If you see him, please let me know, the family is worried for his safety. This is his only jacket."
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