DOJ Puts Don Lemon On Notice, 2028 Dem Contenders Go Quiet, Arctic Blast Incoming: AM Update 1/20

0:02Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Tuesday, January 20th, 2026, and this is your AM update. Nobody should think in the United States that they're going to be able to get away with this. Trump DOJ officials investigating Don Lemon and a group of agitators for the planned disruption of a Christian religious service. Democrats heading into 2028 facing a growing problem, their inability to answer a simple question. 60 Minutes finally airs its much discussed Seacott prison story and stirs up new controversy. And bundle up, much of the country set to experience an Arctic blast this weekend.

0:39All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

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1:29Find out more at guardyourcard.com and consider telling Congress to guard your card. Previously semi-famous TV host Don Lemon now lashing out at Christians after accompanying an anti-ice mob that deliberately disrupted a Sunday service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, confronting a Baptist preacher mid-worship and turning the sanctuary into a political ambush. Lemon, now styling himself as an independent journalist, joining agitators who said they were there to hold parishioners accountable for refusing to endorse the disruptor's anti-ICE cause, a move now drawing scrutiny from DOJ officials probing possible criminal charges.

2:15Yesterday, Lemon running to the left's favorite new podcast lady, the very angry Jennifer Welsh, casting himself as the real victim here. I think people who are, you know, in religious groups like that, it's not the type of Christianity that I practice, but I think that they're entitled and that that entitlement comes from a supremacy, a white supremacy. And they think that this country was built for them, that it is a Christian country when actually we left England because we wanted religious freedom. It's religious freedom, but only if you're a Christian and only if you're a white male, pretty much.

2:47And so, yeah, absolutely, 100 percent. But it's an intimidation tactic. And, you know, I said, I don't understand how I've become the face of it when I was a journalist. I do understand that I'm the biggest name there. And I'm also, as I was on with my producers this morning, I said, how did I become the face of this? And my producer said, Don, you're a gay black man in America. Within hours of the disgusting church harassment going viral, U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dillon, announcing an investigation into potential violations of the FACE Act, a federal law making it illegal to use force, threats, or intimidation to interfere with individuals exercising their right to worship inside a church.

3:25Yesterday on The Benny Johnson Show, Dylan outlining a range of additional federal charges under review that may also cover Lemon's involvement as a quote-unquote journalist. The PACE Act is just the start. 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. And so 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. He went into the facility and then he began, quote unquote, committing journalism.

4:04And as if that's sort of a shield from being a part, an embedded part of a criminal conspiracy. It isn't. And so, you know, we're getting our ducks in a row. We're putting the facts together. And this is a very serious matter. Come next Sunday, nobody should think in the United States that they're going to be able to get away with this. Everyone in the protest community needs to know that the fullest force of the federal government is going to come down and prevent this from happening and put people away for a long, long time. Dylan explaining another potential tool at the DOJ's disposal to enact justice, the Ku Klux Klan Act.

4:41The Klan Act is one of the most important federal civil rights statutes, 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. In fact, you had sheriffs and you had law enforcement harassing the newly freed slaves. 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. What the Biden administration did is if three grandmas got together to pray outside an abortion clinic, they would say, oh, that's not just a violation of the Klan Act.

5:20that's a conspiracy to violate the civil rights of women going in there to get abortions. 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. Lemon continuously defending his role in the intimidation, releasing a statement to Fox News, quote, it's notable that I've been cast as the face of a protest I was covering as a journalist, especially since I wasn't the only reporter there. That framing is telling. Gee, I wonder what he's referring to. Deputy AG Todd Blanche yesterday on Fox saying Lemon crossed the line.

5:59Freedom of the press extends to a lot of different areas. It does not extend to somebody just trespassing and being embedded with a group of rioters and being part of the group that storms inside of a church. So as our assistant attorney general said yesterday, we are absolutely investigating that conduct. and the fact that that man, that Mr. Lemon, thought that that was a good idea to do that and then to race away from it saying it was freedom of the press. Well, we'll see. We'll see. Minnesota leadership remaining remarkably quiet on the targeting of Christian worshipers. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry saying nothing.

6:34Governor Tim Walz too. Crickets. However, through a spokesperson, the governor releasing one tepid statement. Quote, the governor has repeatedly and unequivocally urged protesters to do so peacefully. While people have a right to speak out, he in no way supports interrupting a place of worship. Can you spare it? Deputy A.G. Blanche reacting to that statement yesterday on Fox. Today, the governor just throws his hands up and says, oh, I've always said you should peacefully protest. That is just completely made up. You can listen to what that man has been saying for the past three weeks. He has not been encouraging people to peacefully protest.

7:10He's been encouraging people to do exactly what they did. And what happened yesterday is a consequence of the governor's words, period. Even more remarkably, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. This is the state's top law enforcement officer appearing on Lemon's podcast endorsing the riotous behavior. The protest is fundamental to American society. This country started in a protest. And, you know, 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. Pro tip, Keith, there is absolutely not a right to enter a church, which is private property, uninvited, and to harass and intimidate churchgoers even after you've been told to leave.

7:59We'll have more on this later today on The Megyn Kelly Show. As the 2026 midterm season approaches, Democrats with presidential ambitions will begin jockeying for a position, backing midterm candidates, building alliances, and laying the groundwork for a presidential run. But one vulnerability Dems still struggle to navigate, questions about basic biological realities from women's sports to medical interventions for minors. It was a defining issue in President Trump's 2024 victory, repeatedly used to hammer Democrat candidate Kamala Harris with this viral line. Kamala is for they, them. President Trump is for you.

8:37I'm Donald J. Trump, and I approve this message. Even as public opinion moves away from progressive gender ideology, many Democrats eyeing 2028 still appear unwilling to engage. A March New York Times poll finding 79 % of Americans believe male athletes should not be allowed to compete in women's sports. Among Democrats, 67 % support sex-segregated sports. Axios asking about 20 potential Democrat contenders three very simple questions. Should, quote, transgender girls—translation, folks, that means boys—be allowed to compete in girls' sports? Do you believe transgender youths under 18 should be able to be placed on puberty blockers and hormones?

9:21And what is your response to the question, can a man become a woman? Eight high-profile Democrats declining to answer, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, Congresswoman AOC from New York, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Senator from New Jersey, Cory Booker, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Senator from Connecticut, Chris Murphy, Congressman from California, Ro Khanna, and California Governor Gavin Newsom. Cat got your tongue? Just three going on the record, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Shapiro's office pointing Axios to past remarks suggesting decisions about transgender athletes should be left to local sports officials, while also backing a lawsuit aimed at protecting access to permanent disfiguring medical procedures for minors.

10:09Buttigieg's spokesperson emphasizing compassion, saying sports decisions should be handled by leagues rather than politicians. And Rahm Emanuel, the only one with courage of the bunch, offering no such ambiguity, reiterating his position has not changed since this July appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show. Do you believe boys should be able to play in girls' sports? Should we be putting men in female prisons? Men claiming they're women? No. And, all right, here's my last one for you. Can a man become a woman? Can a man become a woman? Not, no. It's really not so hard. Axios reporting Democrats looking to avoid clarity on the issue altogether, pointing to newly inaugurated Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger as the model.

10:57In her campaign last year, Spanberger deflecting questions about her personal views, framing her support for boys competing in girls sports as an effort to get politics out of the schools. Democrats 2028 motto. Don't tell voters how you really feel. For the love of God, hide it. A new YouGov poll showing Democrat frontrunner Gavin Newsom slipping from 23 % support in September down to 17, which drops him into second place behind Kamala Harris, who ticked up slightly from 19 to 20%. Go Kamala, go. Every other potential Democrat contender trailing well behind in the single digits. Coming up, after weeks of controversy, 60 Minutes finally airs its shelved report on El Salvador's CICOT prison, revealing not much has changed at all about the original report.

11:48And the nation gears up for an Arctic blast heading this way.

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13:24Back in December, CBS editor-in-chief Barry Weiss abruptly pulling the piece just hours before broadcast, triggering a reported newsroom revolt and accusations of censorship. Weiss, who took over editorial leadership of CBS News last year, defending the decision at the time, finding the report not ready for air, citing alleged concerns over editorial balance and lack of an on-camera response from the Trump administration, which CBS staffers found an odd reason to spike a 60 Minutes piece because it effectively gives a subject veto rights over a story, allowing the government to avoid a tough piece by never giving an on-camera response.

14:03Correspondent Sharon Alfonsi, who reported the piece, sending an internal memo challenging the decision, writing, quote, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship. 60 Minutes anchor Scott Pelley accusing Weiss, who has no television producing experience, of spiking the piece without having bothered to attend any one of the five previous screenings of it. The controversy landing as Weiss herself struggles to establish credibility among her new staffers, with critics viewing her appointment, a promotion from the small, politically moderate online outlet The Free Press, as an attempt to signal political moderation and also as a move meant to placate President Trump by choosing an editorial chief who is non-woke, at least sort of, ahead of a Skydance acquisition of CBS, which needed government approval.

14:51Since taking over, Weiss facing pressure with experimental town halls, including one she hosted, which failed in the ratings, and overseeing the relaunch of CBS Evening News with Tony Dokopoul, whose nightly program's ratings are already headed in the wrong direction. Fast forward to this week. After all that hullabaloo, CBS finally airing its much-debated Seacott piece zeroing in on two illegals deported to the El Salvadoran prison. The big changes? An odd, nearly three-minute anchor tag quoting bits and pieces of Trump administration-written statements, but still not featuring an on-camera comment.

15:30Alfonsi, remaining clearly skeptical of the administration's framing that these two illegals were Venezuelan gang members, Alfonsi questioning whether a swastika tattoo on one of the men suggests gang involvement, and quoting gang experts who say the symbol is irrelevant to the Trenda Aragua gang. Okay, in other words, the big delay and ugly internal fight was all ultimately just to add a long tag that did more attempted undermining of the administration's arguments. Welcome to the new CBS, same as the old one. Brace yourself for plummeting temperatures this weekend as winter tightens its grip on much of the country.

16:11Meteorologist Ryan Shoptaw of 3 News in Corpus Christi, Texas, reporting confidence is growing that a powerful blast of Arctic air is set to engulf much of the nation, with multiple forecast models now in agreement. The northern plains and Midwest already experiencing bitter cold, set to remain locked in Arctic temperatures through next week. Wintry conditions already leading to an over 100-vehicle pileup in Michigan. miraculously local officials reporting no fatalities. Rescue crews there requiring snowmobiles to access stranded passengers from the lengthy crash site. Beginning Friday, the cold front is forecast to push farther south, arriving in Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, before racing into Texas, Louisiana, and the southeast by Friday night.

17:00That surge of frigid air bringing strong winds in what could be the coldest temperatures many southern states have seen so far this season. Shabtaw also saying some parts of the south, particularly from north Texas into Oklahoma and eastward, could see snow depending on the track of the storm system. NBC reporting parts of the northeast by Sunday could experience wind chills as cold as 30 below zero with areas as cold as 50 below zero. 50, I say. Along with the potential for ice and snow, hazardous travel conditions could impact millions of Americans this weekend. Bundle up and stay safe out there.

17:39And don't forget to make arrangements for your elderly relatives just in case the power goes out. That'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for the MK Show, live on SiriusXM's The Megan Kelly Channel, 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash megankelly, and on all podcast platforms.

18:03Thank you.