Welcome to the RedState Weekly Briefing — where we take a quick look at the week’s most viewed stories in case you missed any of them. What do you suppose caught people’s attention as we forge ahead in this wild and woolly January? Grab a cup of coffee (or something stronger if you’re so inclined), and sit down with this 21st Century Weekend Edition of your favorite (online) publication.
#1 – Minnesota’s Muslim AG to Christians: Church Ambushes Are ‘Just Something You’ve Gotta Live With’ — by Teri Christoph
Harmeet Dhillon likely sees things very differently from Ellison. Dhillon noted Monday 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.”
Keith Ellison knows full well that the ambushers had no right to enter the private property of the church and stop the faithful from worshipping. He’ll happily turn a blind eye to it, of course, as long as the brown shirts for whom he provides cover continue to create chaos. Chaos, of course, is Ellison’s justification for seizing more power.
From the aforementioned Alinsky and his Rules for Radicals:
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.
Rule 8: Keep the pressure on. Never let up.
#2 – Anti-ICE Protest Leader Who Invaded Minnesota Church Just Did the Dumbest Thing Imaginable — by Bonchie
Don’t get me wrong, the FACE Act is garbage, and has previously been used to go after pro-life activists for simply standing outside abortion clinics, but it is currently the law. Unless the Supreme Court one day changes that, the Trump administration should use all tools at its disposal.
That’s what makes protest leader Nekima Levy Armstrong’s move after the assault on the church so incredible, and not in a good way for her. Instead of maintaining some deniability, she actually posted all the participants of the attack on Facebook and admitted why they invaded it.
She just…posted everyone involved.
And then PINNED it to her profile. Incredible. pic.twitter.com/nukgJ5JZgd
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) January 19, 2026
#3 – This CNN Panel Discussion on Trump Might Just Land the Network in Legal Hot Water — by Bonchie
The sheer hackery it takes for John Berman to gloss over what Kasky said, which could very well be libelous, and then present his statement as a perfectly normal facet of debate, is hard to fathom. I know CNN sees itself as a resistance apparatchik, but you’d think they’d have some sense of self-preservation, given several other networks have already paid a steep legal price for allowing stuff like that on the air. Never mind that Jennings is a far more valuable on-screen asset for the network than a mindless nobody like Kasky. Maybe offering a bit more respect to the guy helping keep the lights on would be warranted. Instead, Berman snarks back not at Kasky but at Jennings.
BERMAN: Well, we’re going to talk about the Epstein files. Scott, I will do the fact-checking as we go along here. Repeat what you said about the global sex trafficking ring.
You’d think Berman would be more offended by the person who made a possibly libelous comment that could get the entire network in legal trouble. For his ire to instead be pointed at Jennings just for asking that the record be corrected is telling.
#4 – MN Church Stormed by Anti-ICE Agitators Releases Statement Showing Their Actions May Have Consequences — by Nick Arama
Then, on top of that, former CNN media personality Don Lemon, who was there, even tried to smear the innocent parishioners as “entitled” and connected to “white supremacy” in a subsequent interview, as a seeming justification of the disruption. And he and the podcast host, Jennifer Welch, disparaged their Christianity. It was disgraceful.
Now the church, Cities Church in St. Paul, has released a statement. In it, they took the opportunity to talk about Jesus and explain some things that the agitators didn’t seem to understand. I have to hand it to them, they’re taking the opportunity to put Jesus out there, while also calling the action taken against them “shameful.”
#5 – New: Don Lemon Taunts the DOJ and Dares Them to Arrest Him – Harmeet Dhillon Gives Telling Response — by Bonchie
Lemon is correct about one thing: The DOJ will not be dropping this issue.
When you allegedly organize with people getting ready to commit multiple criminal acts, claiming to be a “journalist” is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. Had Lemon immediately left the church when the pastor asked him to, he might have more of a leg to stand on. He didn’t, though, and his actions and words indicated someone who was not there to simply document things as an idle observer, but to push an anti-ICE message and support the activists, while using claims of “journalism” to cover for his direct participation in the attack.
Of course, Lemon knows all this. He’s not taunting the DOJ because he truly believes he’s not in legal jeopardy, nor does he honestly believe he’ll be the next “Jimmy Kimmel.” He’d need to actually have some semblance of cultural relevance for that to happen, and Lemon is basically as influential as Jim Acosta at this point.
If you enjoy the Weekly Briefing, be sure to check out RedState Radio, our weekly podcast. It features a rundown of our top stories of the week, along with chats with a couple of our contributors about what they’ve been covering. This week, we chat with Jennifer Oliver O’Connell and streiff. If you like RedState, we think you’ll like this added feature. You can always find it and our other featured podcasts by clicking on the Podcast tab at the top of the page. Liking, subscribing, and following are much appreciated.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!
