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

[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]

<modsnip: off topic>

... 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? <modsnip>

 

[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.

 

[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 knew the details and was pro-actively concealing their whereabouts & plans so that their plans (and his) 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

 

[shotgun09]

A statement from the Cities Church website, made on January 20, 2026:
( The victims in this case )

RS BBM for focus:

"On Sunday, January 18, a group of agitators jarringly disrupted our worship gathering. They accosted members of our congregation, frightened children, and created a scene marked by intimidation and threat. Such conduct is shameful, unlawful, and will not be tolerated. Invading a church service to disrupt the worship of Jesus — or any other act of worship — is protected by neither the Christian Scriptures nor the laws of this nation."


".......Church buildings are meant to be places of peace and solace, where worshipers can hear and live out this message. We therefore call on local, state, and national leaders to protect this fundamental right. We are evaluating next steps with our legal counsel."

A Response to the Disruption of Our January 18 Worship Service | Cities Church

Jesus is real. When we gather on Sunday mornings to worship him, we are gladly giving ourselves to what is most central and sacred in our life together. “We worship Jesus” stretches as the main banner of our church, alongside two other pursuits that flow from it: loving one another and seeking the g

www.citieschurch.com

 

[marloweclover]

Regarding conspiracy, you generally need intent and agreement to commit the crime PLUS a overt act that furthers the crime. Imo, it is debatable that anything Lemon did furthered the crime -- was his presence helpful in entering the church? Did he drive anyone else there? Did he fund it in some unknown way?

Jury instructions on the elements of conspiracy may be helpful and are the source for my above points: 9th Cir. conspiracy

 

[AppleTreeGreen]

IMO Accusations of racism, sexism, or bigotry do not strip a church of its legal rights. Protesters and agitators are nobodies in this equation. They have no authority, no jurisdiction, and no power to decide which institutions lose their rights based on their opinions. Even if every allegation you’re implying were true, it would still not authorize anyone to enter private property, disrupt worship, intimidate congregants, or refuse to leave. Journalism does not include coordinated disruption, and moral condemnation is not a legal exception. Human rights and the rule of law apply even to people and institutions you dislike. If that bothers you, that’s a you problem, not a legal one. IMO

It seemed based on the affidavit and available recordings on YouTube that DL wasn’t involved in the coordinating the protest or disruption at Citiea Church but rather making sure that he and GF could observe and report on it. DL makes it clear that he is not an activist but he is reporting on them. He is not blowing whistles, joining in the chants like “ICE Out” or getting near and screaming at and scaring the kids. Additionally, when he interviews people he is not obstructing their passageways, intimidating them, threatening them or imposing some form of harm or injury on their person. In this way he is operating within the confines of federal law and not violating the FACES Act, unlike Armstrong and the other protesters who admit they were aware they could get arrested for their actions. Instead, as is often standard for journalists, DL reported what he saw occurring during the protest but did not participate in it nor did he interfere or try to direct the behaviors and interactions between parishioners and protesters. This includes even during the instances in which he did not report the protest as it was not his legal responsibility and would call into question his trustworthiness and journalistic integrity by the local community out and when he empathized with terrified kids who ran away to the bus and those targeted by verbal abuse as protesters yelled that their parents were Nazis or they were going to Hell. Nonetheless, again DL was acting in the role of a journalist and witness, not a participant, exercising his freedom of speech in the field of journalism and thus was not, MOO, abusing human rights or committing a federal crime, as demonstrated by the Federal magistrate and Appeals Court in Minnesota.

He was, however, likely trespassing as the pastor asked him to leave and the church was considered private property, thus possibly putting himself at risks for breaking any related state or local laws. However, he and his camera man were outside the building only 13 minutes after interviewing the pastor so even if wasn’t immediate they did exit the building in a short amount of time, according to the affidavit. As a result, it could be said they didn’t just outright refuse to leave the building or ignore the request by the pastor. Furthermore, no charges appeared to have been filed against him for trespassing so far so it any of those local or state laws either.

Overall, IMO, DL acted within the rules of law and the charges against him don’t have strong legs to stand on. The weakness of the case and its questionable purpose are further exemplified by the prosecutors of the DOJ relying on a grand jury to get an indictment after failing to do so from both the federal magistrate and the Appeal court.

JMO

Can You Protest Inside or Near a Church? First Amendment Analysis

We answer some First Amendment questions around protesting inside — and near — churches and houses of worship.

www.freedomforum.org

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.230688/gov.uscourts.mnd.230688.23.1.pdf

Don Lemon Released After Arrest Over Coverage of Minnesota Church Protest

The government has accused the former CNN anchor of interfering with church-goers' rights to freely practice their religious beliefs.

www.hollywoodreporter.com