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

[Sundog]

So far, 4 judges have indicated that they saw no probable cause.

<snipped for focus>

I thought that one of the judges on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals stated that:

the Complaint and Affidavit clearly establish probable cause for all five arrest warrants

 

[Ontario Mom]

Churches are "private property" in that they are privately held. They are not "open to the public" in that they must serve all that come in. Their doors are open to those to worship. So in some ways it is like your home. But the trespass question, to me, is a red-herring. Yes, they trespassed. they were asked to leave and did not. But the federal charges are in regards to the FACE Act, not trespass.
Did the police ever respond to this church?

They did, and were dispatched at 10:40am after multiple calls from the churchgoers themselves.
Pg. 15 of the affidavit: FBI affidavit in suport of arrest warrant | PDF | U.S. Immigration And Customs Enforcement | American Government

 

[CSIDreamer]

If it was a "secret mission" why were flyers posted around town advertising it?

The secret target was not given.

ETA. I said that all garbled.

 

[shotgun09]

According to the FBI <mod edit> affidavit, the police were dispatched at 10:40 am after receiving multiple phone calls from church members. Per Officer Jonathan Schroeder SPPD, the statement states "parishioners reported 20-40 individuals were disrupting their worship services by chanting and protesting"

 

[Rolypolyoly]

Here’s an interview with Nekima Armstrong regarding Don Lemon’s involvement. She mentions that Don saw a flyer posted with basic details about the event and he reached out to her to ask questions about the protest.

Edit: I highly recommend everyone spend the 5 minutes to watch the video of her interview about the event. It’s very informative and gives a lot of details about how everything happened and how the DOJ is handling this case.

Nekima Levy Armstrong says Don Lemon didn't know where he was going | CUOMO

Civil rights attorney and ordained minister Nekima Levy Armstrong, the first person arrested for entering the church alongside Don Lemon, joins NewsNation to discuss Lemon’s arrest.

www.yahoo.com

Well, that answers that then! Neither DL or GF had any prior knowledge and didnt know where they were going or what was going to happen before they got to the location!.

 

[Sundog]

They were dispatched at 10:40 a.m. I'm still zooming in and reading.

Page 14, starts at the bottom.

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

It's really hard to read this affidavit. People thought there was going to be a mass shooting. Children said to their parents after the service "Daddy, I thought we were going to die."

Shameful, evil.

 

[SouthAussie]

<snipped for focus>

I thought that one of the judges on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals stated that:

the Complaint and Affidavit clearly establish probable cause for all five arrest warrants

Yes, on reading further, one appeals judge agreed. But was in the minority.

So, three out of 4 judges declined to sign arrest warrants.

Here's the link.

Appeals court declines to order lower court to sign arrest warrants against Don Lemon, others in church protest

The ruling made public on Saturday did not identify the names of the five defendants for whom the Justice Department is seeking arrest warrants, but multiple sources confirmed to CBS that Lemon is one of them.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

Churches are by definition private property. Don Lemon was asked to leave. Lemon's response was to ask whether the pastor did not want him to worship.

Lemon did not leave as requested, and remained in the church for another 13 minutes. Was Lemon prevented from leaving? That has not been reported.

"The First Amendment ... does not provide journalists with a general right to access private property without permission.

Churches and houses of worship are private property. Entry without consent, particularly during an active religious service, may constitute trespass regardless of journalistic intent or purpose. Newsgathering does not override property rights, and journalists are subject to the same access limitations as the general public.
...

Trespass: Entering or remaining on private property without permission. Journalistic purpose does not negate trespass laws.

Cases involving journalism often involve overlapping constitutional interests."

Why First Amendment Protections Are Limited in the Don Lemon Arrest — EEW Magazine

We go deeper into First Amendment limits, private property rights, and federal protections for religious worship.

www.eewmagazineonline.com

View attachment 641287

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

I find it strange that he says “You don’t want us to worship”. He included himself by using the word “us”. What a strange thing to ask since they disrupted the worship service. imo

 

[Sundog]

Well, that answers that then! Neither DL or GF had any prior knowledge and didnt know where they were going or what was going to happen before they got to the location!.

I think it is likely that everyone knew where they were going when they met in the parking lot of Cub Foods. They had to know where they were driving to and where they were going. That is knowledge in advance.

 

[PrairieWind]

Well, that answers that then! Neither DL or GF had any prior knowledge and didnt know where they were going or what was going to happen before they got to the location!.

DL knew in the pre event interview with the organizer that the intent was to disrupt. He then went with them to a church. You can't tell me he didn't know he was entering a church service.

 

[SouthAussie]

I think it is likely that everyone knew where they were going when they met in the parking lot of Cub Foods. They had to know where they were driving to and where they were going. That is knowledge in advance.

Don Lemon and his cameraman were driven to the church by someone who is described as a local producer and activist.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/01/23/don-lemon-minneapolis/

 

[Rolypolyoly]

I think it is likely that everyone knew where they were going when they met in the parking lot of Cub Foods. They had to know where they were driving to and where they were going. That is knowledge in advance.

She literally just said they didn't know!
I can only guess that they were told to follow the lead car to the final destination.

ETA @SouthAussie has kindly provided a link showing that they were driven there by someone else.

 

[CSIDreamer]

I find it strange that he says “You don’t want us to worship. He included himself by using the word “us”. What a strange thing to ask since they disrupted the worship service. imo

Especially since he was there all by his lonesome. JMO

 

[Sundog]

Don Lemon and his cameraman were driven to the church by someone who is described as a local producer and activist.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/01/23/don-lemon-minneapolis/

Do you think they got into the car not knowing where they were going? How would all the other people who showed up at Cub Foods know where they were going when they got in their cars? It seems to me that it was obvious that they all knew where they were going when they left the parking lot at Cub Foods.

 

[Summerliz03]

Do you think they got into the car not knowing where they were going? How would all the other people who showed up at Cub Foods know where they were going when they got in their cars? It seems to me that it was obvious that they all knew where they were going when they left the parking lot at Cub Foods.

Did you watch the interview with Ms. Armstrong where she answers these questions? It’s linked above, 2 times.

 

[CSIDreamer]

She literally just said they didn't know!
I can only guess that they were told to follow the lead car to the final destination.

ETA @SouthAussie has kindly provided a link showing that they were driven there by someone else.

Well, considering on HIS YT Live he said more than once "don’t say where we're going, it's secret". Why would he say that if he didn't know???

 

[Sundog]

Did you watch the interview with Ms. Armstrong where she answers these questions? It’s linked above, 2 times.

Yes, I did watch it. I don't recall her saying that the secretive target of the protest was not revealed at the meet-up in the parking lot of Cub Foods. Only that it was kept a secret before the meet-up.

 

[SouthAussie]

Especially since he was there all by his lonesome. JMO

There are actually photos in the Washington Post link of the inside of the church, during the protest.

For all of the hyperbole, it really just looks like a bunch of people standing around, looking toward the back of the church (where the protesters were).

I see two people standing with their hands in their pockets. One female parishioner filming on her phone. Four people standing in a group chatting. Other parishioners watching. If they are afraid, they don't present that appearance.

For example, no-one is crouched down or trying to flee out of the visible and clear doorways (that presumably either lead to a side entrance or lead to a pastors' office).

I have the impression that the cameraman and Don were standing off to the side, out of the (small) crowd.

imo

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/01/23/don-lemon-minneapolis/

 

[Ontario Mom]

DL knew in the pre event interview with the organizer that the intent was to disrupt. He then went with them to a church. You can't tell me he didn't know he was entering a church service.

If folks were to read both the affidavit and the indictment, I believe it spells out quite clearly that Lemon knew exactly what was going on, who was all involved (he thanked them ahead of time, for crying out loud) and how it would all go down, long before he arrived at the church.

His claim "but I'm not with them!" doesn't hold water. Even if he was the ONLY guy in that church that morning (aside from the worshippers and pastor) doing exactly what he did, he'd still be interrupting the service as he livestreamed, walked around, audibly commenting on things, then going up to the pastor (after he had to stop the sermon due to disruption) while livestreaming and without being invited to do so, start "interviewing" him.

100% if someone did that in my church, even with ZERO protestors, my pastor would stop the service and ask the guy to leave because he would have been disrupting our protected right to gather and worship.

I don't believe Lemon has a chance at not being found guilty of what he's charged with.

jmo

 

[CSIDreamer]

There are actually photos in the Washington Post link of the inside of the church, during the protest.

For all of the hyperbole, it really just looks like a bunch of people standing around, looking toward the back of the church (where the protesters were).

I see two people standing with their hands in their pockets. One female parishioner filming on her phone. Four people standing in a group chatting. Other parishioners watching. If they are afraid, they don't present that appearance.

I have the impression that the cameraman and Don were standing off to the side, out of the (small) crowd.

imo

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/01/23/don-lemon-minneapolis/

So from carefully curated photos . . . JMO

Are you able to read the affidavits or are you restricted since you aren't in the US? Serious question. I know some other countries have issues here and there.