The Brief | Don Lemon Arrested by Feds Over Minnesota Church Protest
Plus: Homan takes over Minneapolis operations, FBI raids Fulton County election office with Tulsi Gabbard lurking in the shadows, and the shutdown deal that wasn’t.
Hey friends,
Happy Friday! Pour yourself something strong because today’s news cycle is giving “main character energy” and I’m exhausted just looking at my notes. We’ve got a former CNN anchor in federal custody, the Director of National Intelligence showing up at an FBI raid looking like she’s auditioning for a spy movie, and Congress somehow managing to both avoid and cause a government shutdown simultaneously.
In today’s Brief:
Don Lemon wakes up in federal custody after Bondi drops the hammer—”at my direction”—with three co-defendants in tow
Homan digs into Minneapolis, promises a drawdown, then Trump immediately says “no, no, not at all”
Congress breaks the shutdown deal they just made because of course they did
FBI raids Fulton County election office for 2020 ballots; Tulsi Gabbard lurks on-site looking like she’s auditioning for a spy thriller—turns out Trump sent her personally
Nationwide anti-ICE protests kick off today as Minneapolis becomes the movement’s Main Character
Trump’s “armada” parks itself off Iran’s coast with an ultimatum: negotiate or else
The “Melania” documentary hits 1,500 theaters today; Kimmel already mocking box office predictions
Let’s get into the news!
Don Lemon Got Himself Arrested
In what I can only describe as a Friday morning surprise arrest of 2026, former CNN anchor Don Lemon was taken into federal custody late Wednesday night while covering the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. He’s expected in federal court today in LA, and as of this writing, he’s still sitting in a cell.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrest on X, and Lemon wasn’t alone. She named three co-defendants—Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell—all tied to what the DOJ is calling a “coordinated attack” on Cities Church in St. Paul on January 18.
Bondi’s kicker? “At my direction.”
The charges stem from that incident where anti-ICE protesters stormed a church service chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good” after learning one of the pastors is the acting field director of the St. Paul ICE field office. The charges include FACE Act violations and conspiring to deprive others of civil rights, the same law, by the way, that was used to prosecute pro-life protesters outside abortion clinics.
Funny how that works.
Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, released a statement calling this an “unprecedented attack on the First Amendment” and claiming his client was merely performing his duties as a journalist. You know, by live-streaming from inside a church service, that protesters were actively disrupting.
Here’s what the media is doing with this story: framing it as the Trump administration targeting journalists. Here’s what they’re not mentioning: a magistrate judge initially rejected the charges and told prosecutors they’d need to present the case to a grand jury if they wanted to move forward.
So that’s exactly what Bondi did.
Reports indicate a grand jury was empaneled yesterday, and by late last night, Lemon was in cuffs at the Grammys. (Can you picture it?) I guess Bondi took the judge’s advice, and she brought friends.
Lemon goes before a judge today, and the indictment will be unsealed, so we’ll finally see what exactly the DOJ is alleging. Watch my IG for updates as they drop.
Tom Homan Plants His Flag in Minneapolis
Border Czar Tom Homan held his first press conference in Minneapolis on Wednesday since taking over operations from the demoted Gregory Bovino, and his message was crystal clear: “I’m staying until the problem is gone.”
Homan announced a shift to “targeted” operations that are “safer, more efficient, by the book.” He also outlined plans for an eventual drawdown of the 3,000 federal agents currently in Minnesota if, and only if, local officials start cooperating. Specifically, he wants access to jails to pick up illegal immigrants who’ve been arrested on other charges.
“Give us access to the illegal alien public safety threat and the safety and security of a jail,” Homan said.
But here’s the thing: when Trump was asked directly about pulling agents, he said “no, no, not at all.” So what exactly will this “drawdown” look like? Time will tell.
The two Border Patrol agents involved in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti on January 24 have been placed on administrative leave, standard procedure, though it took longer than expected for that confirmation to come through.
Meanwhile, the powder keg isn’t cooling off. Nationwide anti-ICE protests and boycotts are kicking off today, with organizers explicitly tying their actions to the Minneapolis operations. No new shootings or clashes reported yet, but this situation feels less like a resolution and more like an intermission.
Homan is blaming Minnesota’s “sanctuary” policies for the entire mess. He met with Governor Tim Walz, Mayor Jacob Frey, and Attorney General Keith Ellison, describing the meetings as “productive” while urging them to dial down their rhetoric.
“I’ve begged for the last two months on TV for the rhetoric to stop. I said in March if the rhetoric doesn’t stop, there’s going to be bloodshed. And there has been,” Homan said.
Frey’s response through a spokesperson? “Any drawdown of ICE agents is a step in the right direction—but my ask remains the same: Operation Metro Surge must end.”
Translation: we’re not actually cooperating, but thanks for the sentiment.
The Shutdown That Wasn’t (And Then Was Again)
Senate Democrats and President Trump reached a deal Wednesday night to fund most of the government, stripping DHS from a broader six-bill package and passing the rest through September while DHS gets a two-week continuing resolution through February 13.
But the Senate didn’t actually vote Wednesday night. They’re reconvening at 11 AM today to try again. And since the House isn’t back until next week, we’re almost certainly looking at a brief partial shutdown over the weekend affecting DHS non-essentials.
Here’s the thing they’re not telling you: ICE operations are already funded through 2029. They have $75 billion sitting there. This entire DHS standoff is about optics and leverage, not operational funding.
Seven Republicans actually joined Democrats in torpedoing the original package over earmarks and refugee funding. Senator Rand Paul is demanding a vote on stripping “refugee welfare money” and threatened to slow everything down unless he gets it.
Trump endorsed the deal on Truth Social, saying, “the only thing that can slow our Country down is another long and damaging Government Shutdown.” But the odds of a brief lapse are rising by the hour.
Congress: finding new ways to create problems while solving them since 1789.
Stories like Minneapolis are a reminder that the first narrative usually isn’t the most accurate — it’s just the fastest. Between the Lines is where I unpack how coverage gets framed, what’s skipped, and why certain details surface only after opinions are locked in.
FBI Raids Fulton County Election Office; Tulsi Gabbard Sent by Trump
This is the story that has Democrats in full panic mode. And look, I get the optics. But there’s context here that nobody’s talking about.
On Wednesday, FBI agents executed a search warrant at the Fulton County Elections Hub near Atlanta, seizing all 2020 physical ballots, voter rolls, tabulator tapes, and ballot images as part of an investigation into potential federal election law violations.
The warrant cited two statutes: one related to defrauding voters of a fair election process, and another concerning the retention of federal election records.
Here’s what the media is not telling you: according to Julie Adams of the Fulton County Georgia Republican Party, the DOJ wrote to Fulton County back in August asking for these ballots. They wrote again in October. Two weeks ago, the FBI delivered a third letter. And the majority of the Fulton County Board of Elections denied every single request. The Georgia State Election Board has been trying for four years to get these records, including issuing a subpoena.
All of those efforts failed. Until a judge signed a warrant.
So spare me the “unprecedented raid” hysteria. They asked nicely. Three times. They got told no. They went to a judge. That’s how this works.
Now, about Tulsi.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was photographed on-site during the raid. Reuters captured an image of her literally peeking out from behind storage equipment, all dressed in black, on her phone. Very spy-movie aesthetic. Peak tradecraft energy.
The White House confirmed that Trump directly tasked Gabbard with this “election integrity” probe. And yes, that’s unusual. The DNI is supposed to be focused on foreign threats, not domestic FBI warrant executions.
But here’s the question everyone should be asking: why would the DNI need to be there?
There’s really only one reason that makes sense—a foreign intelligence nexus. And there’s been speculation for years that the 2020 election was influenced by foreign actors, with Venezuela coming up repeatedly in these conversations.
Remember what Trump said at Davos? “The 2020 election, which I won, and some people are gonna be prosecuted.” He said it was “breaking news” but we’d have to wait.
My guess? This is what we’ve been waiting for.
Virginia Senator Mark Warner is demanding to know why Gabbard was there, claiming she’s either hiding a foreign intelligence angle from Congress or playing politics. But let’s be real—Mark Warner is one of the leakiest people on Capitol Hill. If there is a foreign intelligence component to this investigation, am I surprised Tulsi’s been keeping her head down with her little duck legs paddling furiously under the water while briefing absolutely nobody? Not particularly.
Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee requested a briefing today. The Office of the DNI has not responded.
Georgia’s Democratic senators are already connecting this to Trump’s 2021 call with Secretary of State Raffensperger and spinning it into their 2026 midterm narrative. The claim is that Trump could “alter” the ballots or use this to “steal” future elections—which, honestly, I’m not grasping how seizing 2020 records helps with 2026 or 2028, but okay.
The left is panicking. The right is curious. And somewhere in Fulton County, there are FBI agents going through five-year-old ballots while the Director of National Intelligence watches from the shadows.
Stay tuned on this one.
Foreign Policy Round-Up: Rubio Takes the Hill, Trump Sends the Fleet
While everyone’s been fixated on Minneapolis and Fulton County, the administration has been quietly (and not so quietly) flexing on the foreign policy front. And by “not so quietly,” I mean the President announced he’s sending an armada to Iran like it’s 1588 and he’s Philip II of Spain.
Let’s start in the Western Hemisphere.
Trump’s Cuba Executive Order: The Oil Squeeze
At 12:01 AM this morning, a new executive order went into effect declaring the Cuban government an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security.
The EO doesn’t just rehash the usual complaints about communism and human rights abuses, though those are in there. It frames Cuba as a forward operating base for every adversary we have: Russia’s largest overseas signals intelligence facility sits on the island. China is building “deep intelligence and defense cooperation.” And apparently, Hamas and Hezbollah are welcome guests, using Cuba to “build economic, cultural, and security ties throughout the region.”
But here’s the teeth: the order establishes a tariff system targeting any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. The Secretary of Commerce will monitor who’s fueling Havana, and those countries face additional duties on their U.S. imports.
Read that again. Any country that keeps the lights on in Cuba gets hit with tariffs.
This matters because of what’s happening next door.
Rubio’s Senate Testimony: Venezuela, Cuba, and “Mike Drop Marco”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spent Tuesday on Capitol Hill defending the administration’s abduction of Nicolás Maduro before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, calling it a “strategic necessity” to counter Venezuela’s ties to Iran, Russia, and Cuba.
The key takeaways: The U.S. is not at war with Venezuela. There are no troops on the ground. And the administration expects “cooperation” from interim President Delcy Rodríguez—including ending oil subsidies to Cuba and opening Venezuela’s energy sector to U.S. firms.
See how these pieces fit together? Venezuela has been Cuba’s lifeline—subsidized oil keeping the communist regime afloat for years. The Maduro abduction wasn’t just about Venezuela. It was about cutting off Cuba’s IV drip. And now the Cuba EO puts the entire world on notice: fuel Havana, and you’ll pay for it at U.S. customs.
Translation: We didn’t invade Venezuela. We just... reorganized their leadership. And now we’re controlling their oil-funded budget on a monthly basis while making sure nobody else picks up the slack.
Rubio was clear that force remains on the table if goals aren’t met, but emphasized a “phased transition to democracy” and plans to reopen the U.S. embassy in Caracas. On Cuba, he was more measured, regime change is “desirable but complex,” which is diplomat-speak for “we’d love to but that’s a whole different mess.”
The real highlight? Rubio’s exchange with Senator Tim Kaine.
Kaine tried to nail Rubio on Trump confusing Greenland and Iceland during his Davos remarks, you know, when the President said “we don’t want anything with Iceland” when he meant Greenland. Classic gaffe fodder.
Rubio didn’t flinch: “I think we all are familiar with presidents getting confused with things. Some more than others.”
The room got real quiet. Tim Kaine had nothing. Rubio essentially said “yeah, well, at least ours knows what year it is” without saying it.
Mike Drop Marco indeed.
Meanwhile, in the Gulf: Trump’s Armada
While Rubio was handling the Western Hemisphere portfolio, Trump was busy channeling his inner naval commander.
The President announced that a “massive armada” led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is now positioned in the Gulf of Oman and North Arabian Sea, warning Tehran to negotiate a nuclear deal or face an attack “far worse” than the June 2025 strikes that took out key Iranian nuclear sites.
“We have an armada heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
The fleet includes guided-missile destroyers and additional air-defense systems to protect U.S. bases in the region. Iran responded exactly how you’d expect, threats of “instant retaliation” and live-fire drills planned in the Strait of Hormuz.
But here’s the context the media keeps glossing over: Iran has been brutally cracking down on protesters for months. The U.S.-based HRANA rights group has verified over 4,500 deaths linked to the unrest. An Iranian official admitted to Reuters the death toll is over 5,000, including 500 security forces.
Trump claims his threats stopped nearly 840 scheduled executions. “I said: ‘If you hang those people, you’re going to be hit harder than you’ve ever been hit,’” he told reporters. “At an hour before this horrible thing was going to take place, they canceled it.”
Whether that's true or Trump taking credit for something that was already happening—who knows. But the armada is real, it's positioned, and the clock is ticking.
The Big Picture
What we’re seeing is a coordinated multi-front pressure campaign. In the Western Hemisphere, the administration is squeezing Venezuela, strangling Cuba’s oil supply, and putting the entire world on notice that fueling Havana comes with a price. In the Middle East, it’s maximum pressure on Iran with actual hardware backing up the rhetoric.
The Cuba EO specifically calls out Iran as one of Cuba’s malign partners. This isn’t three separate foreign policy tracks, it’s one strategy targeting the interconnected web of U.S. adversaries.
Rubio is the diplomatic face, measured, quick on his feet, willing to throw shade at former administrations while defending the current one’s aggressive posture. Trump is the hammer, declaring national emergencies and announcing armadas on Truth Social.
Whether this is strategic genius or a powder keg waiting for a spark depends entirely on what happens next. Iran is weakened but cornered. Cuba is about to get a lot darker, literally, if the oil stops flowing. Venezuela is reshuffling but unstable. And the U.S. is projecting power on multiple fronts while simultaneously dealing with a domestic immigration crisis, a potential government shutdown, and an ongoing election records investigation.
No big deal. Just another day in the Trump administration.
Quick Rundown
Trump’s “armada” is now positioned in the Gulf of Oman and North Arabian Sea, with the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group ready for action. Iran is prepping drills and threatening “instant retaliation” while allies Turkey, Oman, and Qatar are frantically brokering talks to avert strikes. Trump demands Iran end its nuclear program and stop killing protesters. No attacks yet.
ICE was thwarted from entering Ecuador’s consulate in Minneapolis after an employee blocked an agent at the door. Ecuador filed an official complaint with the U.S. embassy in Quito. ICE claims they were chasing a suspect and the consulate wasn’t properly marked.
The “Melania” documentary releases globally today across 1,500+ theaters before hitting Prime. Jimmy Kimmel mocked weak box office predictions last night. The premiere Wednesday featured the Trumps, RFK Jr., Pete Hegseth, and Nicki Minaj. Melania calls it “beautiful, emotional, fashionable”—and insists it’s not a documentary.
China executed 11 members of a Myanmar scam operation tied to the notorious Ming family empire—over $1 billion in fraud and 14 deaths. The BBC reports authorities are cracking down hard on the region’s sprawling scam industry.
Trump kept his Cabinet meeting to 81 minutes after joking about appearing to doze off last time. He notably skipped calling on Kristi Noem and avoided the Minneapolis situation entirely.
Let’s Talk
Bondi went to a grand jury, got the indictment, and arrested Lemon while “covering” the Grammys. So why is the media still calling this a political hit job?
Tulsi showed up in all black to watch the FBI seize five-year-old ballots. Trump sent her personally. DNI usually means foreign interference. What does the DNI know that we don’t?
And is anyone else noticing that the Cuba EO, the Venezuela squeeze, and the Iran armada all dropped in the same week? Coincidence, or are we looking at an “explosive” weekend?
Which story are you watching closest—and what am I missing?
Leave it in the comments. Let’s talk.
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Thrilled to see Lemon arrested. Now just hope they actually do something about it. I really appreciate you, Rachel, and Amanda explaining how all the actions our government is taking in other countries effects us here at home. Keep up the good work! 👍