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

[otto]

Law Enforcement were parked outside the church. No arrests were made at the time.

Church’s are considered private property, a demonstrator can be dinged for trespassing. If asked and refusing. Churches have first amendment rights.

Also, no one was blocked from leaving. The protestor’s did not “storm” they stood up. They were already in the pews sitting quietly. Their hands were free. Nothing was thrown other than their voices.

I understand they were there to protest the minister that is also the director of ice that is in the Twin Cities. And to make the parishioners aware that was who they had as one of their preachers.

Don Lemon was there and quietly filming away from the actual protest. I watched this live, came across it randomly on that day. He then left and did ask some church goer’s some questions and gave them the opportunity to speak.

He was notified this was going to happen in advance although he said he did not have many details before for what it’s worth.

This is what I watched and remember. so I guess I have to say its from my perspective and opinion.

It's most likely that Don Lemon was aware of the plan, circulated social media, to interrupting the service. Hopefully, as a former CNN journalist, he was aware of the FACE Act prior to entering the religious building with a camera during a religious service.

"Ms. Levy Armstrong, the church protest organizer, said she circulated her plan for interrupting the service on social media."

Protest at Minnesota Church Service Adds to Tensions Over ICE Tactics

The Justice Department said it would investigate the protest over a pastor’s apparent role in immigration enforcement in the state.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Gators North]

Harmeet Dhillon, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, retweeted a post calling Lemon a "klansman".

Let that sink in

View attachment 640637

“Klansmen?” Wow, that’s rich. MOO

 

[Inthedetails]

hmmm, this gives me food for thought. I will need to give real thought to whether this changes my opinion. As I said, I did not agree with that crowd overtaking a church at all. I feel it was very wrong of them to do so.

I do still question, if DL was made aware of the group's intentions ahead of time as this seems to strongly suggest, were the other journalists present also? And if so, why are they not facing the same charges?

It will be a messy mess and I want to see everything before making a snap judgement.

What was his role that day? I'll await clarity.

jmopinion

 

[witchway]

It's most likely that Don Lemon was aware of the plan, circulated social media, to interrupting the service. Hopefully, as a former CNN journalist, he was aware of the FACE Act prior to entering the religious building with a camera during a religious service.

"Ms. Levy Armstrong, the church protest organizer, said she circulated her plan for interrupting the service on social media."

Protest at Minnesota Church Service Adds to Tensions Over ICE Tactics

The Justice Department said it would investigate the protest over a pastor’s apparent role in immigration enforcement in the state.

www.nytimes.com

There was a lawyer present as well. They were informed carefully. Was it uncomfortable? Yes. Was it illegal? That still has to be decided.

 

[otto]

There was a lawyer present as well. They were informed carefully. Was it uncomfortable? Yes. Was it illegal? That still has to be decided.

Did anyone attending the religious meeting at the religious building feel intimidated, or interfered with? The religious service was interrupted and terminated. Was Don Lemon an observer, or did he interact with the people in the religious building during their religious meeting?

If the protest and reporting of the protest was "uncomfortable", doesn't that violate the FACE Act?

"Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 - 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

 

[Inthedetails]

Is there anything more reprehensible -
Lemons is a black gay man
To dangle chains in the White House tweet is just a sick way for the Admin to throw "red meat"
to their base

JMO

Yes, and those who recognize the danger of the imagery will be criticized. My opinion.

jmo

 

[otto]

Is one of the questions: when someone posts on social media that they intend to violate federal law, such as the FACE Act (or any other law), should journalists rush to the scene to film the violation of law? Should journalists interview the persons whose rights have been violated to ask how it feels?

Is that journalism, or voyeurism?

 

[Inthedetails]

Washington, D.C., January 30, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for their reporting on a protest in Minnesota, arrests which mark a serious escalation of attacks on the press in the United States.

“This is an egregious attack on the First Amendment and on journalists’ ability to do their work,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “As an international organization, we know that the treatment of journalists is a leading indicator of the condition of a country’s democracy. These arrests are just the latest in a string of egregious and escalating threats to the press in the United States — and an attack on people’s right to know.”

CPJ condemns arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort over Minnesota protests coverage - Committee to Protect Journalists

Washington, D.C., January 30, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for their reporting on a protest in Minnesota, arrests which mark a serious escalation of attacks on the press in the United States. “This is an...

cpj.org

 

[ColyH]

I understand the anger of the protesters but barging into a church protesting did not do them any favors. On saying that if a church is going to hire a preacher who holds a political post and uses a pulpit to push his political agenda then they better expect backlash.

 

[Inthedetails]

I understand the anger of the protesters but barging into a church protesting did not do them any favors. On saying that if a church is going to hire a preacher who holds a political post and uses a pulpit to push his political agenda then they better expect backlash.

Did the person arrested, Don Lemon, participate in the protest or was he there as a journalist, not a protester?

This thread is about Don Lemon.

jmo

 

[CrimeDawg123]

I understand the anger of the protesters but barging into a church protesting did not do them any favors. On saying that if a church is going to hire a preacher who holds a political post and uses a pulpit to push his political agenda then they better expect backlash.

Totally agree. I don't understand why they chose that manner of protest and I personally think it's in extremely poor taste to disrupt a church service. I would think protesting outside the church would be much more effective appealing to church goers and non church goers alike to let them know the pastor is a .

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

Speaking on camera from a snowy parking lot in the Twin Cities, Lemon said he had done some “reconnaissance” with activist groups ahead of the storming of Cities Church.

“These are resistance protesters, they’re planning an operation we’re going to follow them on. I can’t tell you exactly what they’re doing, but it’s called Operation Pull-Up,” he said in the livestream.

“So that’s what we’re doing here, and after we do this operation, you’ll see it live, these operations are surprise operations, again I can’t tell you where they’re going,” he said.

Video proves Don Lemon was embedded with anti-ICE agitators before they stormed church — despite claiming ‘no affiliations’

Speaking on camera from a snowy parking lot in the Twin Cities, Lemon said he had done some “reconnaissance” with activist groups ahead of the storming of Cities Church.

nypost.com

 

[Sundog]

FWIW, the few journalists I know take their role very seriously and they know the very first amendment of the Bills of Rights calls for freedom of the press.

Democracy depends on free press, to hold authority to accountability, to keep the public informed. Responsible voting depends on being informed - and people are informed through a free press. This not a light matter and journalists take it seriously (as well as knowing they have to "sell newspapers").

This will be a case where freedom of the press will be at its core and we'll see who is strong enough to accept scrutiny of the press.

My opinion

Precedent was set with the arrest of independent journalists who were chronicling the events of January 6th at the Capitol. I think it was about 8 independent journalists who were arrested and charged and some sent to prison and some negotiated a plea deal, IIRC. Also, no journalists defended their right to chronicle the events and practice journalism during these events. So it seems that these journalism associations have a clear double standard for when they speak out against this and when they don't. I don't think any of us are surprised, sadly.

 

[CrimeDawg123]

https://bsky.app/profile/motherjones.com%2Fpost%2F3mdo2ml56ts2q

 

[Summerliz03]

Precedent was set with the arrest of independent journalists who were chronicling the events of January 6th at the Capitol. I think it was about 8 independent journalists who were arrested and charged and some sent to prison and some negotiated a plea deal, IIRC. Also, no journalists defended their right to chronicle the events and practice journalism during these events. So it seems that these journalism associations have a clear double standard for when they speak out against this and when they don't. I don't think any of us are surprised, sadly.

I’m honestly asking because I cannot find any information on this. Can you please link some news articles about independent journalists being arrested after the Jan 6th riots? When I google, I don’t find any information or articles about this but I’d like to further educate myself in case I missed this.

 

[Summerliz03]

I’m honestly asking because I cannot find any information on this. Can you please link some news articles about independent journalists being arrested after the Jan 6th riots? When I google, I don’t find any information or articles about this but I’d like to further educate myself in case I missed this.

Ok after some more digging, I did find this.

Independent journalist briefly detained amid DC riots

Independent journalist Talia Jane was briefly detained while documenting riots in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.Jane was documenting via …

pressfreedomtracker.us

I’m not sure this journalists detainment is similar or relevant to Don Lemon’s current arrest but I’m open to seeing if there’s anything more that happened after the capitol riots?

Edit: ok I did also find this, off to read more!

Four more journalists get felony charges after covering inauguration unrest

A documentary producer, a photojournalist, a live-streamer and a freelance reporter facing up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine if convicted

www.theguardian.com

Looks like that guardian article is about trumps inauguration in 2017, not the 2021 Capitol riots.

 

[Sundog]

Did people storm into a place of worship? Like storming into a synagogue or a mosque to disrupt a religious meeting?

Shouldn't journalists take the stance that storming a religious building during a religious meeting is going to cause fear and safety concerns? Would Don Lemon film the storming of a synagogue during a religious meeting?

Good points.

Also, a grand jury reviewed evidence and determined there is probable cause that a felony was committed by Don Lemon and they issued an indictment to initiate a trial. Maybe he'll plead guilty and his lawyer will try to negotiate a plea deal.

 

[Sundog]

Is this the church that the pastor was found to be the head of some department of ICE? The people of that person's church had no idea that is who he was in 'real life'. IMO

I'm not sure what the point of your post is. So what if he was head of some department of ICE and also their church pastor. Why would that be a problem, except for the agitators who broke the law and stormed the church and violated the sanctuary.

 

[Sundog]

"another step toward authoritarianism"
-- Congressman Joaquin Castro

https://bsky.app/profile/joaquincastrotx.bsky.social%2Fpost%2F3mdnmm7cw5s2a

That's just nonsense. The independent journalists who were chronicling the events of January 6 at the Capitol were charged and sentenced to prison time, many negotiated a plea deal, some did time in prison. Also, other journalists around the country said nothing at the time. They remained silent.

So there is now precedence in law for these kinds of arrests. Maybe they should have spoken out a long time ago and not let their political biases play a role in their silence or outspokenness.