Politics

Don Lemon is apparently in the DOJ's crosshairs after he was covering a group of ICE protesters who interrupted a church service in Minnesota's Twin Cities ... and at least one parishioner wants them all charged.

Here's the deal ... The former CNN host -- now an independent journalist -- live-streamed from Cities Church in St. Paul, MN, where a bunch of demonstrators interrupted the Sunday service to protest the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the state. One of the pastors is allegedly an ICE official.

Cities Church parishioner Caleb Phillips tells TMZ … the protesters rocked the church and scared the hell out of a lot of good people … but ultimately, they accomplished nothing.

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a criminal probe into an anti-ICE protest that tore through a Minnesota church service Sunday ... and former CNN host Don Lemon could be swept up in it under the century-old "KKK Act."

DOJ Assistant AG for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon tells TMZ ... every demonstrator who stormed the Sunday service at Cities Church in St. Paul is now under federal investigation. When we asked if Don is in the crosshairs, Dhillon wouldn't confirm or deny it, telling us to connect the dots ourselves.

Don says he was merely doing his job -- reporting a news story from the scene. But, on his livestream, Don is seen kissing the organizer of the protest on the cheek, which the feds might interpret as him having a closer connection to the group.

Dhillon says FBI agents are already talking to witnesses, and while no formal charges have been filed yet, it’s "fair to say" charges are coming under the Face Act and KKK Act, that make it a crime to terrorize and violate the civil rights of citizens.

8:09 AM PT -- Nicki is continuing her bashing of Don on X, reposting a tweet by someone else who rips apart the independent journalist.

Nicki Minaj is so pissed at Don Lemon that she called the independent journalist a homophobic slur for reporting on a protest at a Minnesota church service.

On Sunday, the rapper went on the attack on X, writing in all caps that "DON 'COCK SUCKIN' LEMON IS DISGUSTING." Don is gay, and married real estate agent Tim Malone in 2024.

Minaj continued, "HOW DARE YOU? I WANT THAT THUG IN JAIL!!!!! HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO ANY OTHER RELIGION. LOCK HIM UP!!!!!"

Nicki blew her stack at Don after the former CNN anchor livestreamed a news report from Cities Church in St Paul, MN, where a bunch of demonstrators had interrupted the Sunday service to protest the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the state. Several media outlets have reported the pastor of the church allegedly has ties to ICE.

1:08 PM PT -- Nicki's paying attention to Don's reaction, and the media's, to her comment. In a new X post she says, "LOL!!! And i purposely wrote it that way b/c I knew that would be the only way to get the c**k suckas to post about it."

She also warned, "I'm glad they're angry. They're about to get angrier" ... and included a pic of a Chucky doll flipping the bird.

Don Lemon is going off on Nicki Minaj! The former CNN news anchor stopped by "TMZ Live" and unloaded on the rapper, telling her to "sit the f*** down" ... and while she's at it -- "get a life and grow some brains."

As you know ... Nicki bashed Don on X, calling him a homophobic slur, writing, "DON 'C*** SUCKIN' LEMON IS DISGUSTING." Don is gay, and married real estate agent Tim Malone in 2024.

But Don told us Nicki is an ignorant, bigoted woman who's been weighing in on things she doesn't understand.

Donald Trump is blaming the country of Norway for not awarding him a Nobel Peace Prize ... and he's using that as a reason to escalate his threats to take over Greenland -- from Denmark -- all displayed in a letter from Trump to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

Støre sent a text message Sunday to Trump on behalf of both himself and Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, asking if they could set up a meeting to discuss several hot-topic issues -- particularly Trump's ongoing threats to invade Greenland, The Independent reports.

Trump responded and accused Norway of snubbing him for last year's Nobel Peace Prize, which went to Maria Corina Machado. But the government of Norway is not involved with the Norwegian Nobel Committee's decisions about awarding the prizes, as Støre pointed out.

Trump said in his reply he no longer has an "obligation to think purely of Peace" -- an ironic statement coming from someone obsessed with getting the Peace Prize. Trump frequently claims he's stopped 8 wars.

Trump said in his message Denmark can't protect Greenland from Russia and China -- though there's no indication either country has designs on the world's largest island. Trump says the United States has done more for NATO than any other country -- so therefore the alliance should force Denmark to surrender Greenland to the U.S.

Trump has said the U.S. needs Greenland for national security purposes.

Josh Shapiro went through an extensive vetting process while Kamala Harris figured out who she wanted as a running mate for her 2024 presidential campaign ... and he says he was asked if he'd ever spied for Israel.

The governor of Pennsylvania wrote about his experience with the former vice president's team in his upcoming memoir, "Where We Keep the Light," and he claimed his views on Israel were a hot topic with her advisors, reports The New York Times.

Shapiro, who is Jewish and has been outspoken about his support for Israel, said he was asked if he'd ever been in communication with any Israeli undercover agents ... and whether he'd ever been a double agent.

Shapiro said he knew the people asking him about his connections to Israel were simply doing their jobs, but added their actions "said a lot about some of the people around the VP."

He added, while he felt the vetting sessions had been "completely professional and businesslike," he wondered if he was being asked about his views on Israel solely because of his religion.

Shapiro said "had a knot in my stomach" throughout the vetting process.

Donald Trump's haters are absolutely thriving right now ... Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has been outspoken about his disdain for the present administration ... and the band has just been tapped to open the Super Bowl!

The punk rock band -- which hails from Rodeo, California, in the Bay Area -- will kick off Super Bowl LV at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, February 8.

Billie Joe released a statement ... "We are super hyped to open Super Bowl 60 right in our backyard! We are honored to welcome the MVPs who’ve shaped the game and open the night for fans all over the world. Let’s have fun! Let’s get loud!"

This comes after the singer led a crowd at Download Festival last summer in a chant calling Trump a "fat bastard."

Prince Harry’s legal battle against a powerful British tabloid publisher is heating up -- with the Duke of Sussex returning to court to take them on over allegations of unlawful information-gathering ... along with a host of A-listers.

Harry arrived at London’s High Court on Monday looking confident in a black suit … acknowledging a few spectators as he headed inside.

Elton John and actors Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost join Harry as part of the group, claiming Associated Newspapers Limited -- the publisher of the Daily Mail -- hired private investigators to place listening devices in homes and cars and record private calls. There are also claims of ANL engaging in impersonation and deception to access personal info.

President Trump seems to be calling the shots at CBS News these days -- at least when it comes to last week's interview with anchor Tony Dokoupil.

Dokoupil -- the new face of the "CBS Evening News" -- landed a 13-minute interview with Trump, which was broadcast Tuesday from a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan.

The New York Times reports that after they wrapped their discussion, Trump's chief spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, walked up to Dokoupil and his team and issued a stern warning from the president.

Piers Morgan is hospitalized after a painful fall, which landed him with a brand new hip.

The broadcaster revealed Sunday he's recovering in a London hospital after tripping at a restaurant, suffering a serious femur fracture that required a hip replacement.

Morgan shared the update on X, posting a photo from his hospital bed and explaining he tripped on a small step while dining out. He joked the New Year was already "off to a cracking start."

As we all impatiently wait for the next batch of the Epstein files to drop, a mystery has surfaced from the old batch ... a very puzzling, four-legged (we think) mystery.

Check out this bizarre photo of what appears to be a shaggy pooch stuffed, or sitting, in a garbage bag ... which was placed inside a cardboard box.

The pic was buried inside a mountain of documents and visual footage released last month by the Department of Justice as part of the now-stalled rollout of the Epstein files.

The snapshot was overshadowed by all the attention on pics of famous people like Bill Clinton, Chris Tucker and Mick Jagger, but we dug it up for you now.

A California man has been arrested after he wrote on social media that explosives had been placed in Disneyland ahead of Vice President JD Vance's visit last year.

Here's the deal ... federal authorities announced Friday they've arrested 22-year-old Marco Antonio Aguayo after he allegedly threatened Vance's life on July 12, 2025.

While the VP visited and stayed at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, feds claim Aguayo wrote three messages online ... one of which read, "Pipe bombs have been placed in preparation for JD Vance’s arrival."

Ludacris is pulling out of Kid Rock's country music festival after some of his fans threw a fit when his name showed up on the lineup poster.

The "What's Your Fantasy" rapper originally appeared on the "Rock the Country" tour's lineup Monday this week -- along with Nelly -- but by Friday his name was removed from the poster.

Some folks view Kid Rock's music festival as part of the MAGA movement ... and Ludacris was getting roasted in some corners of the internet for seemingly getting on board.

A rep for "Rock the Country" told Rolling Stone Luda is no longer part of the festival ... and a rep for Ludacris told the outlet it was all a "mix up" and "lines got crossed and he wasn't supposed to be on there."

Donald Trump says Ozempic ain't the wonder-drug you might've heard many call it ... because he swears he has a friend who gained weight while taking the notorious weight-loss med.

POTUS held a meeting Friday on Capitol Hill to discuss health care and drug costs -- unveiling his "Great Healthcare Plan" proposal -- and, launched into a bizarre story about a friend of his ... who he called, a "very smart guy, very, very rich and and a very powerful man actually, but he's very fat."

He explains this man goes to London for business quite often ... and, after running into one another recently, he complained to the prez that Ozempic costs $1,300 in New York City -- but just $87 across the pond.

Former U.S. Senator for Arizona Kyrsten Sinema is being sued by a woman who claims the ex-lawmaker had a relationship with her husband while in office ... and the woman claims Sinema used campaign funds to fund the affair.

A civil lawsuit filed in North Carolina by a woman named Heather Ammel claims Sinema destroyed Ammel's marriage with her estranged husband, Matthew, by carrying on an affair with him while he was part of Sinema's security detail.

Ammel claims Matthew began working for Sinema in 2022 ... who allegedly sent him "romantic and lascivious" messages in frequent communications on the Signal encryption app. Heather and Matthew were married for 14 years and share three children.

Barack and Michelle Obama aren't raising the roof at the White House anymore, but celebs still flock to them whenever they throw an event ... just ask Gabrielle Union and D-Wade.

The Obamas hosted an event for their company, Higher Ground Media ... and, they took a pic beaming next to the actress, her former NBA star husband, actor Sterling K. Brown and his wife, actress Ryan Michelle Bathe.

Other pics posted by Union last night show Don Cheadle and Jennifer Lewis also attended ... a star-studded event only the Oscars and the former First Couple can pull off.