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

[CSIDreamer]

I thought I read in this thread that the protesters were sitting in the pews waiting for the service to begin, and that DL entered through a side door and set up with his camera guy to film? Neither of which sound like storming the church to me, but

Does anyone know if the cameraman was also arrested?

Regarding the cameraman: there's a Jerome Richardson in the indictment. From reading the indictment, he is placed in the vehicle with Lemon traveling to the protest. I wonder if that's who he is. JMO

Then again, he might be the driver. It's just my opinion from limited searching, he may or may not be 21. JMO

 

[otto]

The journalists there were reporting on the incident, as they’ve done through recent history. They didn’t organize, plan or carry it out. JMO. I haven’t seen any evidence that they did.

When the independent journalist and protesters upset the pastor, the pastor asked them to leave.

Any thoughts on why the independent journalist interpreted that request as a statement that the pastor did not want the journalist and protesters to "worship"?

FBI affidavit in suport of arrest warrant | PDF | U.S. Immigration And Customs Enforcement | American Government

This affidavit, submitted by Special Agent Timothy Gerber, outlines the investigation into a group of agitators who disrupted a religious service at Cities Church in St. Paul, MN on January 18, 2026. The group, led by Nekima Valdez Levy-Armstrong and Chauntyll Louisa Allen, coordinated their...

www.scribd.com

 

[Izzylizzy]

Coulumbia Journalism Review is longstanding, respected institution that monitors and reviews journalistic standards and ethics. Here’s a link to their recent article covering this incident. Hopefully, this might be of help to WS members.

Columbia Journalism Review

The voice of journalism, since 1961.

www.cjr.org

Thank you an excellent article.
A snip to focus on the immaturity, incompetence and revengeful use of our courts.


"Pamela Bondi, the US attorney general, said on X that the arrests were made at her direction. The White House celebrated the arrests in its own post depicting a black-and-white image of Lemon. “When life gives you lemons,” the caption read, alongside two shackle emoji.

Last week, the Justice Department attempted to bring charges against Lemon, but was rejected by a federal magistrate judge. The DOJ appealed; that, too, was turned away, by Judge Patrick J. Schiltz, an appointee of George W. Bush. Lemon and his producer “were not protesters at all; instead, they were a journalist and his producer,” Judge Schiltz found.

“There is no evidence that those two engaged in any criminal behavior or conspired to do so.” The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.'

 

[Izzylizzy]

$100,000 rightly deserves a

"Late Friday afternoon, Mr. Lemon appeared in court at a federal building in downtown Los Angeles wearing a white suit. Lawyers for the government sought a $100,000 bond and asked to restrict Mr. Lemon’s travel to Minneapolis, to face the charges, and to New York, where he lives. A magistrate judge denied both of those requests."

Don Lemon Released Without Bond Over Minnesota Protest Charge

Nine people have been accused of violating federal law during the demonstration at a church this month, reviving a case that was rejected last week by a magistrate judge.

www.nytimes.com

 

[keek]

Thank you an excellent article.
A snip to focus on the immaturity, incompetence and revengeful use of our courts.


"Pamela Bondi, the US attorney general, said on X that the arrests were made at her direction. The White House celebrated the arrests in its own post depicting a black-and-white image of Lemon. “When life gives you lemons,” the caption read, alongside two shackle emoji.

Last week, the Justice Department attempted to bring charges against Lemon, but was rejected by a federal magistrate judge. The DOJ appealed; that, too, was turned away, by Judge Patrick J. Schiltz, an appointee of George W. Bush. Lemon and his producer “were not protesters at all; instead, they were a journalist and his producer,” Judge Schiltz found.

“There is no evidence that those two engaged in any criminal behavior or conspired to do so.” The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.'

THERE'S America's result of ...no words.

 

[Barbb]

He's a journalist for over 30 years!!! I was watching his stream on that day, he was reporting on the ground in Minnesota, and someone suggested he check out the church. He had no idea what was going on prior. All his videos are posted on his Youtube channel if you want to see for yourself. Highly recommend.

"A journalist is a professional who gathers, writes, and reports on news and current events. They are responsible for investigating and uncovering important information, and presenting it to the public through various mediums such as newspapers, magazines, television, and online publications. Journalists play a critical role in informing the public and holding those in power accountable. They must possess strong research, writing, and interviewing skills, as well as the ability to think critically and objectively." https://jobs.community.kaplan.com/career/journalist

"He had no idea what was going on prior".

He knew their names before they went in. He knew the name of the operation. He knew they were going in to protest. I've seen his livestream more than a few times. Don Lemon admitted that he was aware of the plans of the anti-ICE protesters and had done some "reconnaissance" with activist groups before they stormed the church, indicating he knew of their intentions and the names of key individuals involved.

 

[bearfossils]

DBM.

 

[Izzylizzy]

"He had no idea what was going on prior".

He knew their names before they went in. He knew the name of the operation. He knew they were going in to protest. I've seen his livestream more than a few times. Don Lemon admitted that he was aware of the plans of the anti-ICE protesters and had done some "reconnaissance" with activist groups before they stormed the church, indicating he knew of their intentions and the names of key individuals involved.

Independent journalists are not legally required to inform authorities of a planned protest.

 

[bearfossils]

More churches are suing ICE over arrests in places of worship: ‘Congregations have gone underground

Another group of Christian denominations is suing Donald Trump’s administration to stop immigration enforcement arrests in their churches.

A lawsuit from Baptist, Lutheran and Quaker groups accuses Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of chilling First Amendment protections and infringing on religious freedoms. The groups filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to block the policy on Tuesday.

After Trump entered office, the administration rescinded previous Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy that prohibited enforcement actions in sensitive locations such as places of worship, as well as schools and hospitals.

Within the last month, federal agents seized a man in front of a church, brandished a rifle at a pastor and detained a grandfather dropping off his granddaughter at a church school in Los Angeles, according to the lawsuit. Federal officers have also recently chased several men into a church parking lot and arrested a parishioner at churches across southern California, according to church leaders.

“As a result, people across the country, regardless of immigration status, reasonably fear attending houses of worship,” according to the lawsuit. “The open joy and spiritual restoration of communal worship has been replaced by isolation, concealment, and fear.”

But Don Lemon recording a single church service is worth the federal government suing over? Can a Christian explain this to me? A reporter documenting a service is worth the federal government filing some kind of hate crime legislation? But the stuff above isn’t worth even discussing?

 

[Summerliz03]

More churches are suing ICE over arrests in places of worship: ‘Congregations have gone underground



But Don Lemon recording a single church service is worth the federal government suing over? Can a Christian explain this to me? A reporter documenting a service is worth the federal government filing some kind of hate crime legislation? But the stuff above isn’t worth even discussing?

As a Christian, I’m FAR more worried about ICE conducting raids at churches and arresting parishioners as they are praying than I am about a group of protestors interrupting a singular church service for 15 minutes. All IMO.

Edit: there was talk earlier about the children who were at the church during the protests being traumatized. What about the children who are in church when ICE agents burst in and kidnap their fellow church members? Is that not traumatizing?

 

[Izzylizzy]

As a Christian, I’m FAR more worried about ICE conducting raids at churches and arresting parishioners as they are praying than I am about a group of protestors interrupting a singular church service for 15 minutes. All IMO.

Edit: there was talk earlier about the children who were at the church during the protests being traumatized. What about the children who are in church when ICE agents burst in and kidnap their fellow church members? Is that not traumatizing?

I'd say this also applies to documented immigrants too.
imo

Fearing ICE, many undocumented immigrants are worshipping in hiding instead of at church​

​

I

 

[bearfossils]

He wasn't at the church at the time of the protest. If he was the target, then independent journalists and protesters should have done their research to determine whether the man they were targeting (versus unrelated families with children) would suffer from their protest.

He is a major player in said church who has insinuated himself into both ICE and the Trump administration. Weird how the churches violated by ICE agents haven’t been protected or defended the same way by the federal government. I’m sure those two statements aren’t related at all.

 

[bearfossils]

He wasn't at the church at the time of the protest. If he was the target, then independent journalists and protesters should have done their research to determine whether the man they were targeting (versus unrelated families with children) would suffer from their protest.

Kind of like any ICE agent or member of the federal government should have done more research before pumping a bullet into a protestor’s head or abducting a toddler to force an immigrant into coming forward? Cool to know where you stand.

 

[otto]

Kind of like any ICE agent or member of the federal government should have done more research before pumping a bullet into a protestor’s head or abducting a toddler to force an immigrant into coming forward? Cool to know where you stand.

I stand with human rights and upholding law.

 

[Izzylizzy]

I stand with human rights and upholding law.

The "FACE ACT" laws?

 

[Sillybilly]

Excerpt from Tricia's post earlier today

That said, the church is not the topic of this thread.

The topic is the arrest of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, and whether those arrests were legitimate.

 

[Sillybilly]

"He had no idea what was going on prior".

He knew their names before they went in. He knew the name of the operation. He knew they were going in to protest. I've seen his livestream more than a few times. Don Lemon admitted that he was aware of the plans of the anti-ICE protesters and had done some "reconnaissance" with activist groups before they stormed the church, indicating he knew of their intentions and the names of key individuals involved.

I could be wrong, but IMO Lemon’s reference to reconnaissance could simply boil down to knowing the who/what/why/when/where. Any journalist would need to know that in order to show up for coverage of the event and what it consisted of:

Who: names of individuals participating
What: Operation Pull Up protest at the church
Why: church leadership's alleged affiliation with ICE
When: date and time to meet
Where: addy of the church

As someone else posted upthread, he had no legal obligation to inform anyone of his knowledge of an upcoming event.

IMO

 

[Summerliz03]

I will continue to say it. Unless the DOJ has concrete proof that Don Lemon was part of the planning process of the protest, this case will be dismissed. His presence alone does not show that he was a protestor, even meeting up with the protestors before they went into the church. Even knowing what church they were planning on going to. Even standing with them before they went into the church. None of that means he’s a protestor. He did not plan the protest, he did not coordinate details or handle logistics. I have read the indictment and the DOJ has the responsibility to prove that Don Lemon was a protestor and not a journalist. I do not believe they have that proof. He acted as a journalist. You can be upset that he chose to cover a church protest and went into the church to get footage, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is a journalist and was acting as a journalist that day. MOO.

 

[Ontario Mom]

I could be wrong, but IMO Lemon’s reference to reconnaissance could simply boil down to knowing the who/what/why/when/where. Any journalist would need to know that in order to show up for coverage of the event and what it consisted of:

Who: names of individuals participating
What: Operation Pull Up protest at the church
Why: church leadership's alleged affiliation with ICE
When: date and time to meet
Where: addy of the church

As someone else posted upthread, he had no legal obligation to inform anyone of his knowledge of an upcoming event.

IMO

I'm no lawyer but I suspect it's possible the moment he admitted on air that he was in cooperation with them even in the slightest sense, that he was pro-actively concealing their whereabouts & plans so that their plans couldn't be stopped and so that he could be there to livestream it (I think this matters a lot) that may be all that's needed to prove he was conspiring with them, to do what they did.

I guess we'll see. I've never followed a case where it had to be proven someone actively conspired to violate a federal law.

jmo