MN - Journalist Don Lemon arrested for church protest, Minneapolis, 18 Jan 2026

[303gmf]

Do you have proof this particular church is involved in political campaigning or is this just a generalized comment?

I believe way too many are

Taxing them would help

 

[MrsWatson]

Thinking that the definition of White Supremacy Church is (n): If I don't like who worships there, it is a white supremacy church, because if I like the people there, it would not be a white supremacy church.

Now..... apply this definition to "Terrorist Mosque" and I bet the moderators get bent out of shape fast.

Any definitions for "Zionist Synagogue"- anyone, anyone? And another one "Hinduvata Temple"? Any takers, any one at all?

What actions might be justified against say, Terrorist Mosques, Zionist Synagogues and Hinuvata Temples? Can ohh so independent journalists barge in a "interview" their leaders at any time?

BBM

That may be your opinion. It is not mine. My opinion is to denounce white supremacist beliefs and not be affiliated with any religious group that espouses those beliefs.

 

[CSIDreamer]

I believe way too many are

Taxing them would help

Can't disagree with that. Losing that 501(c)(3) might lead some folks to repentance. JMO

 

[otto]

The law that you cited implied that it is illegal for anybody ("journalist, non journalist etc) to interfere with a worship service. That might include following people in and giving "interviews".

In short, Lemon might not need to be part of a "protest". Rather, he might just have needed to have disrupt the service.

This law: the FACE Act.

I agree. Don Lemon entered a church with a camera and microphone during a religious meeting. He filmed adult and children members of the church, and interrupted the religious meeting to ask questions.

"Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit:

(2) intentionally injuring, intimidating, or interfering with, or attempting to injure, intimidate, or interfere, any person by force, threat of force, or physical obstruction exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship;"

https://www.congress.gov/bill/103rd-congress/senate-bill/636

 

[K9Enzo]

There you go!! The reason for this church is being exposed which is a good thing in the fight against white nationalism, it has started. It would be a good thing if some of the members spoke out about why they chose this particular church brand. So many churches pop up under the name of Christian. That term we know is also used as a hidey hole for other types of preaching and the people who relate. Yes, that means to them they can call themselves Christians. It will become clear in the upcoming days, the reason DL chose to expose that particular pastor and church. IMO

Those church members don’t owe protesters, agitators , Don Lemon or any Joe Public any explanation, zero. They were there to worship not be dragged into someone else’s political crusade. IMO

 

[Ontario Mom]

I think this is precedent setting, though. While the type of church may be a chapter in the book so to speak, the whole book is the larger story.

Can someone *known* as a former network journalist, then as an independent journalist, help plan a church protest the way he did (he used the word reconnaissance to describe his own actions), and then play victim (playing the victim is how people avoid responsibility IMO) to avoid prosecution under a very real FACE Act?

The type of church doesn't matter at all, according to the federal statutes that the grand jury found were violated. That's the important part.

Literally, even if it was the Church of Satan, they have the same federal protections under the law that any other recognized religious house of worship has. (I have no idea if they're actually a recognized church but my point stands).

jmo

 

[CrimeDawg123]

If I take a moment to stop and thnk about this
It would seem to me that both his "jobs" are complimentary sharing similar views -
In lock step with one another perhaps


JMO

The members of this church do find the two not only complimentary, but their mission:

"Naselli appeared with former Cities Church pastor Joe Rigney, who currently is on staff with Doug Wilson in Moscow, Idaho, on the Center for Baptist Leadership podcast with William Wolfe this week to discuss the fallout from his prayer in light of the Renee Good shooting.

“We’re trying to build a civilization,” Rigney proclaimed.

Naselli added, “We’re building and fighting for God’s glory,” mentioning the possibility of flipping Minnesota red.

To do this, they’re ignoring sharing the gospel with anyone who might lean to the left and are focusing on MAGA Republicans. As Naselli put it, he’s not interested in reaching “liberal blue elite people,” but “non-Christian, red leaning people who are like Elon Musk” who “have common sense.”

One way they’re building their civilization is through the promotion of ICE. Wolfe said, “ICE might be one of the most critical government agencies in our nation right now. In many ways, they’re the heroes.”

He went on to say Jonathan Ross, the ICE officer who killed Renee Good, is an “All American hero.”

So why are we surprised one of the Cities Church pastors would be a director for ICE?

Naselli explained, “In my church, we’re pretty united there in that we believe Romans 13 that government exists to reward the good and punish the evil”

Let’s talk about how Cities Church treats women – Baptist News Global

To understand pastors of Cities Church, examine where they came from, how they view authority, submission, gender and punishment.

baptistnews.com

 

[waldojabba]

Sure plenty of interesting unpaywalled sources, google Doug Wilson and Joe Rigney For example this one:

Let’s talk about how Cities Church treats women – Baptist News Global

To understand pastors of Cities Church, examine where they came from, how they view authority, submission, gender and punishment.

baptistnews.com

Thank you @CrimeDawg123 for affording this context about the church and it's particular type of religion.

It would seem the protesters knew their target market. I think they could have made their point outside of the church after the service but I also think the ICEmen can do there job without flaunting the law - so maybe just an evening out of the playing field or the basic tit for tat.

It appears to me that his is a truly Maga church. It helps to explain to me so comments I read from others that I struggle to make sense of. Separation of church and state - a concept I dearly believe in - went out the window years ago I guess.

Snippets from the article :

Joe Rigney quoted below from the article is a Cities Church pastor, currently on staff in Moscow Idaho
BBM

"We’re trying to build a civilization,” Rigney proclaimed.

Naselli added, “We’re building and fighting for God’s glory,” mentioning the possibility of flipping Minnesota red.

To do this, they’re ignoring sharing the gospel with anyone who might lean to the left and are focusing on MAGA Republicans. As Naselli put it, he’s not interested in reaching “liberal blue elite people,” but “non-Christian, red leaning people who are like Elon Musk” who “have common sense.”

One way they’re building their civilization is through the promotion of ICE. Wolfe said, “ICE might be one of the most critical government agencies in our nation right now. In many ways, they’re the heroes.”

He went on to say Jonathan Ross, the ICE officer who killed Renee Good, is an “All American hero.”

So why are we surprised one of the Cities Church pastors would be a director for ICE"
//
To Rigney, the true victim in all this is apparently white men. He said the focus on immigrants has led to “the forgotten man … because he’s not an appropriate object of compassion.”

Truly illuminating to someone so far removed from this type of religion

JMO

 

[Sundog]

So you want to make an assertion, and then claim the evidence is out there, but you won't provide it. Pretty sure there is no such evidence and that's why you refuse to provide it. So back to my original statement: Lemon did nothing you claim.

MOO.

The grand jury believed that Lemon did what is claimed by the prosecution. They indicted him after hearing the evidence against him.

 

[witchway]

Cities Church isn't being persecuted for righteousness – Baptist News Global

MAGA churches are not being persecuted for righteousness but for not loving their neighbors, Rodney Kennedy says.

baptistnews.com

Shedding the light so to speak. IMO Maybe a reason for why the protestors were there and why Don Lemon chose to report. IMO

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

There will also be witnesses from among the congregation and some may have their own videos. And he was indicted by a grand jury so they believed their was probable cause that he was guilty of the offences as charged.

I assume the trial will be in Minnesota? I don't think they would have all the witnesses travel away from their homes.

There will also likely be a civil suit, no matter what happens at the criminal trial. I look forward to the church members and the church getting justice.

Grand jury, ham sandwich and all. Also, the last time a GJ supposedly handed down an indictment for a high-profile case the DOJ was handling, it turned out to be a farce, IIRC, and all charges were dismissed.

So a GJ indictment doesn't lend credibility to this.

MOO.

 

[SouthAussie]

I'm sure they do. This church, however, has a pastor who works for law enforcement at the federal level who deal with the arrests of illegal immigrants in our country. And it has nothing to do with this case of Lemon and company storming a church in the U.S. which is against the law.

Well, it has everything to do with it, as the protesters wouldn't have been there if the director of field operations for ICE wasn't an active pastor of that church.

The charges - no matter how weak they are against Don Lemon - will be a separate matter. Because the court won't be looking at the 'why' of the protesting. It will only be looking at Don Lemon's conduct at the time. If it crossed any journalistic line.

imo

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Did Don Lemon publish factual information about that church?

There is literally no way for us to know right now, but I tend to believe actual journalists (read: not independent podcasters who've never even taken a journalism class) report the truth until I'm proven wrong. They do so for many reasons, including their own reputation and credibility and also defamation lawsuits.

Lemon's age-restricted "journalistic" youtube video appears to be about disrupting a religious meeting.

It is about protestors disrupting the religious meeting. He is reporting on what is happening, which is what journalists do.

In my opinion, Don Lemon has become the news, and other journalists are researching and gathering facts about why he was involved in a protest that violated the FACE Act.

Don Lemon became the news because he was arrested, not because he was reporting on the protestors. The majority of other journalists are defending him because they realize this is a prime example of government overreach and a violation of the 1st Amendment.

MOO

 

[waldojabba]

The type of church doesn't matter at all, according to the federal statutes that the grand jury found were violated. That's the important part.

Literally, even if it was the Church of Satan, they have the same federal protections under the law that any other recognized religious house of worship has. (I have no idea if they're actually a recognized church but my point stands).

jmo

All true @OM

But doesn't it just add another layer

At least for me to understand why the church is so hell bent on prosecution for this trangression
( also as an aside there were MANY protestors - why are they all not being charged ? )

I was brought up in a different religion - one more based on tolerance and compassion - so I had a disconnect on what was happening. I think my church would not prosecute but would use that type of disturbance as a learning experience/a teachable moment.

I understand the law is the law.
But I also believe in a merciful and compassionate God not a punitive one.
Each to their own

Its been a learning experience for me for sure.

Websleuths does not dissapoint.

JMO
.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Reading the law cited by @otto , my guess is that Don Lemon is going to get squeezed. His status as journalist might not matter.

The law states that it is illegal for anybody to interfere with a religious service by physical obstruction at a place of worship. So.... Lemon following the rioters in, then "interviewing" the church goers sound like he physically obstructed a church service.

Likewise, if I follow rioters into a mosque service and shove my phone into an Imams face and then "interview" him about radical Islam (my phone and my blog make me an independent journalist- right?), I would be physically obstructing / interfering with a mosque service.

Do we think that judges aren't familiar with the law? Because two judges refused to sign the warrant, even stating that the evidence does not show that he broke the law.

Link in this thread.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Is there a legal definition of "journalist"? And, especially an "independent journalist"?

There is no debating that Don Lemon is a professional journalist. Tricia actually posted a really good post about this. This man has worked for decades making a living on reporting the news, hired and credentialed by CNN. He is a professional journalist. So we can debate the others who coin themselves independent journalists, but when someone has the education, training, and credentials, he's a journalist.

IMO, that isn't the question in Lemon's case. The only question in Lemon's case is was he acting as a journalist or a participant and IMO, it's very clear from the evidence thus far, he was acting as a journalist.

MOO.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

If Don Lemon's journalistic intent was to present evidence-based verified facts, gathered openly and responsibly in accordance with professional ethics, why is his published information restricted to protesters at a church?

SBMFF. Because that's how journalism works. When there's a fire and every journalist is covering the family for NBC, ABC, CNN, etc, you'll see a reporter for CBS covering the neighbor who called 911 instead. This happens in every single story. Journalists compete for their stories and it's always about finding a different thing or a different angle or being some place no one else is. This is nothing new. Nothing Lemon did is anything new.

MOO.

 

[Sundog]

SBMFF. Because that's how journalism works. When there's a fire and every journalist is covering the family for NBC, ABC, CNN, etc, you'll see a reporter for CBS covering the neighbor who called 911 instead. This happens in every single story. Journalists compete for their stories and it's always about finding a different thing or a different angle or being some place no one else is. This is nothing new. Nothing Lemon did is anything new.

MOO.

This wasn't a fire or any kind of emergency. It was a Sunday church service with families with their children worshipping.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Lemon is a disgraced former journalist. He now has a social media site and calls himself an independent journalist. Anyone can do the same.

Is he disgraced? Just because CNN cut ties doesn't make him "disgraced." That's just your opinion. Mine is different.

And no, everyone can't do the same because they don't have his credentials, training, and experience. Pretending that the influencer of the week or the soccer mom or soccer dad down the road can just pick up a camera and be in the same league is a crazy minimization of who he is and the experience he has.

MOO.

 

[Deleted member 369619]

I fully agree. I am hoping that the concept applies to journalists disrupting the functioning of a church, mosque, temple by giving "interviews".

No! And in a million words, NO! My brother is a pastor of his church and TOTALLY disagrees with ICE. MOO