{"id":2590573,"date":"2026-04-14T10:17:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T14:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-signals-probe-into-brutal-assault-of-conservative-journalist-filming-anti-ice-riot\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T10:19:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T14:19:13","slug":"doj-signals-probe-into-brutal-assault-of-conservative-journalist-filming-anti-ice-riot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-signals-probe-into-brutal-assault-of-conservative-journalist-filming-anti-ice-riot\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ Signals Probe Into Brutal Assault of Conservative Journalist Filming Anti-ICE Riot"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoj-signals-probe-into-brutal-assault-of-conservative-journalist-filming-anti-ice-riot%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2590573&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>&#8211; The article reports that a top Justice Department official said the agency was \u201con it\u201d after Turning Point USA Frontlines reporter Savanah Hernandez was apparently attacked while filming in Minneapolis during anti-ICE protests.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Hernandez shared videos and photos of the incident, including an assailant whom she identified as William scott Kelly, a man charged earlier in connection with the storming of a church in the st.Paul area. Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, prompted a response on X, saying the DOJ was looking into the matter.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The post references charges under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and conspiracy against rights related to the church incident, which was livestreamed by Don Lemon. the DHS and FBI were alerted as part of the investigation.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The piece notes that other conservative journalists have been assaulted while covering anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis, including reporters from the Daily Caller news foundation (DCNF) and others such as Cam Higby and Nick Sortor. It mentions additional incidents of violence against counter-protesters and coverage of a separate protest tied to welfare fraud allegations involving Somali migrants.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The article is published by the Daily Caller News Foundation and republished by The Western Journal,and it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/stephen-a-smith-loses-it-on-caller-who-says-biden-didnt-open-borders\/\" title=\"Stephen A. Smith Loses It On Caller Who Says Biden Didn&#039;t Open Borders\">includes standard licensing<\/a> and Disclaimer notes regarding DCNF content.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A top Justice Department official said Saturday the federal agency was &ldquo;on it&rdquo; after a reporter for a conservative news outlet was apparently attacked while filming footage in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n<p>Turning Point USA&rsquo;s &ldquo;Frontlines&rdquo; reporter Savanah Hernandez posted <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Savsays\/status\/2043094019052282016\">multiple<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Savsays\/status\/2043088956351189051\">videos<\/a> of mob members opposed to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the Minneapolis area seemingly attacking her Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>After Hernandez <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Savsays\/status\/2043075910296047668\">posted<\/a> photos of one assailant &mdash; a man charged in connection with the storming of a St. Paul-area church &mdash; Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AAGDhillon\/status\/2043080966277648670\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">responded<\/a> in to the post on X.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;On it,&rdquo; Dhillon said in response to Hernandez&rsquo;s post, in which the TPUSA reporter accused William Scott Kelly of &ldquo;inciting&rdquo; the anti-ICE protesters to attack her. Kelly was indicted in January on charges of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (&ldquo;FACE&rdquo;) Act, in addition to conspiracy against rights after the Cities Church incident, which was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/v4ctuhv-cck?si=ttpIgedxisRtvd-N&amp;t=2444\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">livestreamed<\/a> by former CNN host Don Lemon.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">On it <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0BHOdStP91\">https:\/\/t.co\/0BHOdStP91<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AAGDhillon\/status\/2043080966277648670?\">April 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Hernandez <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Savsays\/status\/2043334573363445938\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">posted<\/a> Sunday the Hennepin County Sheriff&rsquo;s Office was charging three people in connection with her apparent assault, reporting in a follow-up <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Savsays\/status\/2043336993514373245\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">post<\/a> she was suffering from a headache and stiff neck.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">UPDATE<\/p>\n<p>I&rsquo;ve reached out to the FBI, DHS, and Hennepin County Sheriff&rsquo;s Office about Savanah Hernandez being assaulted.<\/p>\n<p>DHS alerted their team nearby<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HarmeetKDhillon?\">@HarmeetKDhillon<\/a> is also looking into this as well. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GswX48VVVP\">pic.twitter.com\/GswX48VVVP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreannaMorello\/status\/2043097317721477393?\">April 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Other conservative journalists have been assaulted while covering anti-ICE riots in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) was assaulted Feb. 2 by anti-ICE rioters near a makeshift roadblock, which Minneapolis police later <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2026\/02\/03\/minneapolis-police-blockade-reporter-assaulted-ventura\/\">cleared<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Independent journalists Cam Higby and Nick Sortor also survived a January attack by a mob of rioters opposed to ICE operations. Anti-ICE rioters also reportedly directed violence against counter protesters supporting the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >federal immigration enforcement operations<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Video <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DailyCaller\/status\/2012627976790106412\">taken<\/a> Jan. 17 by DCNF reporter Jorge Ventura similarly shows anti-ICE rioters attacking a counter protester who attended an <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JakeLang\/status\/2012584304405324221\">event<\/a> sponsored by fringe activist Jake Lang.<\/p>\n<p>The event was to protest welfare fraud allegedly perpetrated by Somali migrants, which federal officials estimated to have cost taxpayers at least $9 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Neither Dhillon, Hernandez, nor the Justice Department immediately responded to requests for comment from the DCNF.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/union-membership-plummets-to-record-low\/\" title=\"Union Membership Plummets to Record Low\">legitimate news publisher<\/a> that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A senior Justice Department official said the agency was \u201con it\u201d after Turning Point USA Frontlines reporter Savanah Hernandez appeared to be attacked while filming in Minneapolis. Hernandez posted footage showing anti-ICE protesters seemingly targeting her, and later shared a photo of one of the alleged attackers, William Scott Kelly, who has been indicted for violating the FACE Act and for conspiracy against rights in connection with a St. Paul-area church incident that was livestreamed by Don Lemon. Harmeet K. Dhillon, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, replied to Hernandez\u2019s post with \u201cOn it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hernandez later said she was dealing with a headache and stiff neck. The sheriff\u2019s office in Hennepin County charged three people in connection with the incident, and DHS and FBI were reportedly looking into the matter. The piece also notes that other conservative journalists have been assaulted while covering anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis, including a DCNF reporter in February, and that independent journalists Cam Higby and Nick Sortor survived a January attack by a mob opposing ICE operations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2590574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_7625-1.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50072,50503,7076,3976,6794],"class_list":["post-2590573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-anti-ice","tag-assault-2","tag-doj","tag-investigation","tag-journalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_7625-1.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2590573"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2590577,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590573\/revisions\/2590577"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2590574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2590573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2590573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2590573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}