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

[JennieM]

Open question -- was there a way to cover this event strictly as a journalist that would have been acceptable to everyone? IMO remaining entirely outside fails, from a news perspective -- you only get secondhand opinions about what really occurred, your audience has no opportunity to make their own judgments visually, and you run the risk of missing something important. After all, would we not feel inadequately informed and cheated if "Super Bowl coverage" was limited to pre and post game interviews? JMO

You can’t live report if you are not present.

 

[Sundog]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2018661394858873039

I've followed Harmeet Dhillon's cases for many years and she's an amazing attorney and person. I look forward to see her handling of this case.

 

[Sundog]

It may also be affected by how his flock perceive his deception.

I don't see any deception here. And I haven't seen anything in MSM that states that he was hiding his other employment from his congregants. Many pastors work two jobs and congregants know that it's necessary in many cases as they need to support themselves and their families. I don't know why some would think this is a problem.

 

[Sundog]

He is also a private citizen. He and his family and church are now victims of a crime. Are they not also entitled to that definition?

Yes, according to WS policy, they are considered to be victims of a crime.

 

[Sundog]

David Easterwood is an Acting Director for the St, Paul, MN Field Office in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He is also listed as Pastor for Cities Church in St. Paul, MN.

source CSPAN and church website Leadership | Cities Church

So how is this a problem?

 

[Sundog]

so it is Websleuths job to determine who can be members of what church?

... or where their pastors can work.

 

[Sundog]

I just spoke with a neighbor of mine that was (now retired) journalist from a local news station. Also, now is a minister. He has some great stories, but thats beside the point. I asked him some questions regarding the issues raised here. His answer simply is as a journalist you go where the story is. A church, anywhere it does not matter, because thats where the action is period. You are an observer and reporter. He said this whole thing - indictment was to intimidate press. He spoke about trespassing laws, and said well an expletive. Freedom of the press is very important. So thats his 2 cents.

I guess he doesn't know about the FACE Act.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

I don't see any deception here. And I haven't seen anything in MSM that states that he was hiding his other employment from his congregants. Many pastors work two jobs and congregants know that it necessary in many cases as they need to support themselves and their families. I don't know why some would think this is a problem.

I don’t see any deception, and it’s not something I would have given a second thought to.

 

[Sundog]

Hunting human beings as a job with a sideline as a pastor or whatever church title he claims

The pastor's other profession was working for federal immigration enforcement charged with detainment and deportation of illegal immigrants. I don't know any country that would just sit by and watch 15 million illegal immigrants enter the country with no repercussions.

 

[Sundog]

Some of out peers on this thread are not clear on which jurisdiction enforces which law.

It the church has every right to request local LE assistance for local laws.

MOO

And the feds have jurisdiction to enforce the FACE Act.

 

[Sundog]

But did they know he was an ICE administrator?

I'm not sure how this even matters in terms of discussing this case. What they did know is that a group of agitators showed up and violated them during their worship service on a Sunday morning. Shameful and against the law.

 

[Sundog]

Actually, it's not the least bit cut and dry, which is why TWO separate judges refused to sign a warrant for his arrest (links throughout the thread). Are you suggesting two judges don't know the law or can't recognize a crime when it's cut and dry? The professional journalism societies have all defended him (links throughout this thread) as well and it's also why so many continue to defend him. He did nothing illegal and I suspect the case will be thrown out of court.

MOO.

It wasn't cut and dry for the other judges who gave their legal opinions and decisions about this case. The federal magistrate judge, for example, suggested that the DOJ take the case to a grand jury, which they did.

 

[Sundog]

It will be interesting to see how they justify arresting him if the charges were rejected by the magistrate judge last week, and denied additional warrants by the federal appeals court judge.

The federal magistrate judge recommend that the DOJ take the case to a grand jury. The 8th Circuit Appeals Court were not unanimous about the case. So it was far from a slam dunk, and a grand jury reviewed the evidence and made the decision to indict.

 

[SouthAussie]

The federal magistrate judge recommend that the DOJ take the case to a grand jury.

I don't think it was a recommendation. It was just a stated fact that they could take it to a grand jury. A couple of alternatives were stated that they could pursue. Improve the affidavit and re-present it, or go to a grand jury.


Schiltz's first letter ....He said the demand by federal prosecutors was “unheard of in our district, or, as best as I can tell, any other district in the Eighth Circuit.”
“The reason why this never happens is likely that, if the government does not like the magistrate judge’s decision, it can either improve the affidavit and present it again to the same magistrate judge or it can present its case to a grand jury and seek an indictment”

Schiltz's second letter ... “The government lumps all eight protestors together and says things that are true of some but not all of them,” the chief judge wrote. “Two of the five protestors were not protestors at all; instead, they were a journalist and his producer. There is no evidence that those two engaged in any criminal behavior or conspired to do so.”

And Grasz concurred with the charges but said .... " the government has failed to establish that it has no other adequate means of obtaining the requested relief”

(Minnesota’s chief district judge Patrick Schiltz - and the third 8th Circuit appeals judge, Grasz)

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/24/doj-trump-minnesota-don-lemon-protest-00745589

 

[AppleTreeGreen]

Interesting that it was the federal magistrate judge who recommended to the government prosecution that they go the route of a grand jury as one option.

Yeah but to be fair, according to Lawfare Media, it is rare for grand juries, 1/10,000, to not return with an indictment. They noted that for federal grand juries in particular, basically every case comes back with an indictment due to factors such as relying more on majority, rather than unanimous, vote, requiring lower standard of proof in probable cause instead of of “beyond a reasonable doubt” and unlike in trial, grand jury members can hear hearsay.

On January 20th Judge Micko, the magistrate judge, warned the government that if they were to resubmit their application again he would not review it on an expedited basis like he did the first time. However, since the DOJ wanted to arrests all 8 defendants before the weekend, it makes sense that he would recommend that the government consider using a grand jury to address both their time constraints and the high likelihood of getting their indictment with this method.

It appears however, according to the DOJ’s appeal petition, that Bondi was told the next grand jury would not be available until the following Tuesday January 27th. According to the DOJ’s this would be too late as they did not want to wait until after the weekend and thus chose to follow the judge’s other recommendation to try to appeal with the hope to get a decision sooner.

JMO/my understanding from the docs below

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72185493/00805439003/1/in-re-united-states-of-america/

The Grand Jury Strikes Back

In rejecting indictments that overcharge, grand juries are returning to their constitutional mission of preventing government overreach.

www.lawfaremedia.org

'This creates some real concerns' | Judge says US Attorney Pirro's office has dismissed 11 felony cases over the past month

A magistrate judge says D.C.'s federal court is disturbed by the high rate of dismissals in felony cases since August.

www.wusa9.com

 

[tricia]

I'm a part of this Christian community and this is quite honestly stunning news to me.

Can you please share the links that document the pastor's ties to white nationalism, as well as some of the higher ups in the church, as you've stated?

ETA: as an aside, I've asked twice now and have not seen any clarity on this.
IS this pastor considered a victim by WS standards?

He's named as such in the charging docs, called "Victim #1", so I'm just asking for some clarity.

Yes, I will try.
The pastor was the target of a protest. It is impossible not to have some discussion about his beliefs and why the protest started. It would be unrealistic not to have a background as to why the protest happened. When posters keep saying there is no white nationalist connection to the church and the pastor, I asked for clarification. Was it or was it not true?
THE MAIN FOCUS IS ON THE JOURNALISTS. DID THEY COMMIT A CRIME?

Let me start with the research our members did connecting individual leaders within the church to white Christian nationalism. I want to be very clear about what is and is not being said here.

I am not saying this is about the congregation.
I am not saying the church publicly promotes white nationalist beliefs.
And I am certainly not comparing this church to something like Westboro.

I'm not saying the protesters did not commit a crime.

What the research shows is that a former leader and a current leader within the church appear to have documented ties to white nationalist ideology. That distinction matters.

Posters keep stating that the church has nothing to do with white Christian nationalism, and that simply isn’t accurate based on the research that’s been posted. This is about people involved in leadership, not the beliefs of the congregation as a whole.
We have removed a ton of posts talking about the pastor that were inappropriate. Keep in mind, if we don't get alerted on a post, more than likely we will not see it.

To be clear one more time:
I am not saying the congregation shares these views or that the church advertises them. I am saying that individuals in positions of authority appear to have connections, and that is what the research supports and that is why people were protesting.

This is still not the main focus of this thread, but since the claim keeps being repeated, it needed to be addressed.

If anything I’ve said is unclear, that’s on me—it’s late and I’m exhausted.
Please start reading at THIS POST to review the research for yourself
I am all for asking members to focus on the journalists and stop focusing on the topic of the protest. However, it would be unrealistic to stop all conversations about the topic of the protests.
No one is accusing the pastor of illegal activities. People were trying to show why he was a target right or wrong.
I reserve the right to change my mind after a really good night's sleep.

 

[SouthAussie]

It appears however, according to the DOJ’s appeal petition, that Bondi was told the next grand jury would not be available until the following Tuesday January 27th.

I wonder where they found a grand jury to hear their case.

 

[SouthAussie]

This NY Times article says that if Don is convicted he could face up to a year in prison.

Don Lemon Takes Stage at NYC Event After Arrest Over Minnesota Protest

The anchorman, who was arrested over a protest in Minnesota, told an audience in Manhattan, “I’m not going to let them turn me around,” and sang lines from a civil rights era freedom song.

www.nytimes.com

 

[AppleTreeGreen]

I wonder where they found a grand jury to hear their case.

I think, according to the affidavit, the grand jury was in the US District Court of Minnesota. It appears after the district judge declined their appeal to issue the remaining 5 warrants on the 24th, they then started to use the grand jury to yield indictments.

Read the full indictment against Don Lemon, Georgia Fort and others charged in Minnesota

A grand jury indicted former CNN anchor Don Lemon, independent journalist Georgia Fort and others on charges of conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshippers during an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service earlier this month.

www.pbs.org