No. of Recommendations: 3
Attorney General Pam Bondi had Jesus Christ arrested at a religious house of worship for creating a whip of cords, overturning tables, pouring out coins, and driving small businessmen off the property.
Though the image is a compelling one, it’s basically flawed.
Bondi arrested Jesus OUTSIDE of the worship space, just as ICE arrested worshippers as they were leaving, OUTSIDE of worship spaces.
Don Lemon, on the other hand, helped plan and then filmed a disruption WITHIN a worship space while worshippers were gathered for worship.
Now- you or I may claim that so and so’s worship is illegitimate. I know for a fact that many claim that my particular worship style and content are illegitimate, but when we begin attempting to shut down the worship of others via disruption, that most certainly takes a bite out of the first amendment.
Ok, the Justice department is now on record defending the rights of one particular brand of religious worship expression. And they were right to do it.
Let’s see if they are consistent if and when a MAGA CROWD attempts to disrupt someone else’s religious worship.
A case can be made for asserting that they already have done that. Though ICE didn’t enter the worship space of the church they raided, they did use intimidating tactics in the church parking lot that may put a damper on worshippers’ feeling safe to attend worship in the future, especially given the threats of violence made by ICE agents in the parking lot.
If there’s a test case to be made, it’s in that case rather than in defending Don Lemon.
