Kaitlin Bennett Charged for Public Interviews While Don Lemon Storms Churches Unpunished

The United States is no longer pretending to have equal justice under the law, and this week gave us another crystal clear example of the two-tiered system in action. If you are a conservative journalist asking questions in public, you can be slapped with a federal charge. If you are a left-wing media figure harassing families in church, you get a free pass.

Conservative journalist Kaitlin Bennett revealed that she was charged with a federal offense by the National Park Service while doing on-the-street interviews in St. Augustine. Her crime was asking Democrats questions on public property. Not blocking traffic. Not threatening anyone. Asking questions.

According to Bennett, the citation is not some harmless ticket. Paying it would be a guilty plea and leave her with a criminal record. The charge came from a federal agent who admitted she was on public land, then immediately told her she needed to move to a designated “First Amendment area,” which should tell you everything you need to know about how government bureaucrats now view free speech.

Video of the encounter shows a smug park ranger labeling Bennett a “counter-protester” even though she was clearly engaged in journalism. When she pushed back, the ranger mocked her with “more content for you” before issuing a citation for “disobeying a lawful order.” The fine totals $530, and when asked what lawful order she violated, the ranger reportedly could not explain it.

https://twitter.com/KaitMarieox/status/2014142217430983131

The citation I received is not like a traffic ticket. It was issued by a federal agent. If I pay, it is equal to pleading guilty and I would have a criminal record. I am represented by @RemnantLaw and will be fighting this bogus charge. pic.twitter.com/l51Jxmpe8J

— Kaitlin Bennett (@KaitMarieox) January 22, 2026

Now compare that to how the system treats left-wing media activists.

Just days earlier, disgraced former CNN host Don Lemon was filmed embedded with a mob of anti-ICE agitators who stormed Cities Church during Sunday services in Minnesota. Worship was disrupted. Families were harassed. Children were frightened. Lemon filmed it all and later claimed it was journalism.

For that, Lemon initially faced no consequences at all. No federal citation. No park ranger power trip. No instant criminal charge for standing in the wrong imaginary zone.

So let’s be clear. Asking Democrats questions on public property is treated as a federal offense. Disrupting a church service with a political mob is brushed off as activism. That is not law enforcement. That is ideological enforcement.

This is why trust in institutions is collapsing. Americans can see with their own eyes who gets punished and who gets protected. Speech the Left dislikes is criminalized. Behavior the Left agrees with is excused.

The First Amendment is not supposed to work this way. Public property is not supposed to come with government-approved speech zones. And journalists are not supposed to be treated like criminals for doing their jobs.

But until this double standard is confronted head-on, expect more of this nonsense. The message from the government is simple. Speak freely, but only if we agree with you.