Overview
- St. Paul City Attorney Irene Kao announced Wednesday that her office will not file state criminal charges after reviewing videos, police reports and other materials because the evidence is insufficient under Minnesota law.
- The Justice Department has separately indicted 39 people on federal civil-rights counts tied to the Jan. 18 disruption, and those federal charges remain active and pending.
- Federal prosecutors based their indictments largely on livestreamed videos that show protesters parading down aisles, chanting, blocking worshipers and confronting children, conduct alleged to violate the FACE Act and laws protecting religious exercise.
- Cities Church leaders and the church’s attorneys sharply condemned the city decision as excusing the takeover of worship and urged outside review, while several high-profile defendants, including Don Lemon, have pleaded not guilty and asserted press or First Amendment defenses.
- The split outcome highlights differing legal standards — Minnesota’s probable-cause and conviction-likelihood thresholds versus federal grand-jury indictments — and could affect how future disruptive protests at houses of worship are prosecuted and legislated.