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

[Hexe]

The stated intent, and the end result, appear to have little in common.

Their intent was to draw the attention to the fact one of the pastors is an ICE officer. They did not need to confront him to do that, they did not need him to even be anywhere near that church during the protest. Considering that multiple media wrote afterwards about pastor's day job, I'd say the protesters were very, very succesful in drawing that attention (the ethical and legal validity of their methods is a separate question).

But, to repeat myself, the above has absolutely no bearing on the question if Lemon was in that church as a journo. Journalist's job is to record the event, not to ensure the protest fulfill it's aims.

MOO

 

[Sundog]

It's false equivalence to compare a reporter helping criminals plan a bank robbery to reporters being alerted to attend a peaceful demonstration at a church.

One is easily perceived to be a criminal activity, the other isn't.

MOO

It is a federal crime according to the FACT Act which the protesters violated and are now facing criminal charges. And the protest in the church was in no way "peaceful."

 

[Inthedetails]

The protesters had a message to convey to the congregation. They did so through loud voices and signs. Additionally, the protesters wanted a wider audience to know so they tipped off journalists to the event, as do groups of all sorts inform journalists of happenings.

The journalists had a role to inform the public. They did so by witnessing, asking questions, gathering info, reporting, broadcasting. Journalists are in the business of spreading information to a wider audience than what is immediately in front of them.

Don Lemon did not use his camera and microphone at the event to inform the congregation. He used his camera and microphone to inform the public.

jmo

 

[otto]

Their intent was to draw the attention to the fact one of the pastors is an ICE officer. They did not need to confront him to do that, they did not need him to even be anywhere near that church during the protest. Considering that multiple media wrote afterwards about pastor's day job, I'd say the protesters were very, very succesful in drawing that attention (the ethical and legal validity of their methods is a separate question).

But, to repeat myself, the above has absolutely no bearing on the question if Lemon was in that church as a journo. Journalist's job is to record the event, not to ensure the protest fulfill it's aims.

MOO

The answer to that question is in the affidavit in support of arrest warrant and the indictment. Both describe in detail the reasons that Don Lemon was arrested.

 

[Hexe]

The independent journalist was present before, during, and after the protest to document the organizer and protesters as they politely and respectfully informed a church congregation about an absent member of their church.

He was documenting the protestso presence or absence of that member was not his problem in any way.

The independent journalist summarized his message after the event:

Journalists can have opinions on things like everyone else. And, like everyone else have their right to expressing said opinion guaranteed by the First Amendment.

MOO

 

[J. J. in Phila]

A disruption which ended the service. A disruption Don Lemon did not participated in.

MOO

The disruption was continuous, and Lemon was part.

If Lemon didn't know that they were planning a disruption, why did he sit there? If he knew, that is evidence of conspiracy.

 

[Hexe]

The disruption was continuous, and Lemon was part.

Distuption might have been continuous, the service was not. People were leaving the church when Lemon was interviewing the pastor and others.

If Lemon didn't know that they were planning a disruption, why did he sit there? If he knew, that is evidence of conspiracy.

A demonstration after the end of the service would not be a disruption of said service. You would have to prove Lemon knew exactly when the demonstration was supposed to start.

MOO

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Distuption might have been continuous, the service was not. People were leaving the church when Lemon was interviewing the pastor and others.


A demonstration after the end of the service would not be a disruption of said service. You would have to prove Lemon knew exactly when the demonstration was supposed to start.

MOO

People do leave in the middle of services. The doors are generally not locked.

He had to know in order to go in sit and wait. Try again.

 

[Sundog]

And seems to condemn rather than reconcile, which surprises me as it's so unlike the pastors I know.

Kind of like the "pastor" who led the protest in the Church.

 

[Summerliz03]

Kind of like the "pastor" who led the protest in the Church.

Plenty of pastors have protested recently, especially against ICE. Lots of them have even been arrested for it.

Clergy arrested protesting ICE at MSP Airport share story: "It was holy."

Nearly two weeks after 99 clergy members were arrested and charged during a protest at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, three are sitting down to share their story.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[witchway]

People do leave in the middle of services. The doors are generally not locked.

He had to know in order to go in sit and wait. Try again.

He didn’t sit ever. He walked through a side door, as the protesters started their thing.

 

[Ruminations]

People do leave in the middle of services. The doors are generally not locked.

He had to know in order to go in sit and wait. Try again.

Gosh. I would think that NOT sitting in that church church would be the problem.

It was not an Orthodox Christian church.

MOO

 

[Betty P]

It is a federal crime according to the FACT Act which the protesters violated and are now facing criminal charges. And the protest in the church was in no way "peaceful."

It's ok if we disagree. These are only charges presented, without evidence.

Unlike a bank robbery, viewing the reporters interviewing church members does not manifest itself as a criminal act. No journalist is brandishing weapons, making threats, behaving violently or in a menacing manner.

A peaceful protest is not the same as armed robbery. It doesn't appear criminal in any way. The comparison made by JJ in Phila is false equivalency and inflammatory. I'm not criticizing here, just making a point. JMO

 

[Sundog]

Plenty of pastors have protested recently, especially against ICE. Lots of them have even been arrested for it.

Clergy arrested protesting ICE at MSP Airport share story: "It was holy."

Nearly two weeks after 99 clergy members were arrested and charged during a protest at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, three are sitting down to share their story.

www.cbsnews.com

We're talking here about pastors protesting in a church. I haven't seen an example of that in the news.

 

[Summerliz03]

We're talking here about pastors protesting in a church. I haven't seen an example of that in the news.

My point was that some pastors are willing to break a law to make a point for something they feel strongly about, so I was showing an example of that.

 

[Inthedetails]

Kind of like the "pastor" who led the protest in the Church.

Not really. It's one thing, imo, to condemn cruelty to strangers (foreign born), children, and residents of the city. It's another thing to condemn calling out that cruelty.

But I pay more attention to those calling for reconcilation and finding common ground with each other. There is always common ground, even if it's literally the earth we live on. My opinion.

jmo

p.s. I don't condone disrupting a church service.

 

[Hexe]

People do leave in the middle of services. The doors are generally not locked.

In this particular case though people were leaving, because service prematurely ended.

He had to know in order to go in sit and wait. Try again.

All he had to know that there would be demonstration soon. But during the service? After? Not necessarily.

MOO

 

[Ontario Mom]

I think it may be important to point out that Don Lemon's live stream isn't the only source of video (or info) available. In the affidavit FBI Affidavit in Suport of Arrest Warrant | PDF | U.S. Immigration And Customs Enforcement | American Government we have this info:

Page 2 Info from other LE officers, reports, written materials, multiple recordings

Page 3 Lemon's live stream with closed captioning

Page 12 Other livestream video footage from another agitator

Page 13 Broadcast video from Cities Church

Page 14 Open source social media videos

Page 14 Incident reports from St. Paul PD

Point 36 may be critical to this entire thing if the redacted name is Lemon.

There are 6 males named on the indictment but in the affidavit only 1 is named and that's Kelly, so it's not him. That leaves:

LEMON
RICHARDSON
LUNDY
CREWS
AUSTIN

The redaction is a fairly short name so we can reasonably cross Richardson off the list. That leaves Lemon and 3 others.

The way it's worded is pretty curious since Lemon claims he was there as a journalist and not with protestors. The recording appears to show (according to the affidavit) that he (whoever that is) was engaging in the same activity, along with them.

It seems pointless to say "so and so was seen on video chanting with the agitators" if, whoever that someone is, is already admitting to being a protestor. There's really no reason to point this out unless it's someone claiming they were not with the protestors, just there to report on it. And there's video evidence documenting it.

jmo

 

[J. J. in Phila]

In this particular case though people were leaving, because service prematurely ended.



All he had to know that there would be demonstration soon. But during the service? After? Not necessarily.

MOO

No, they, including Lemon, were continuously disrupting the service.

After they would not be in sanctuary. This wasn't Lemon and Fort standing on the sidewalk.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

I think it may be important to point out that Don Lemon's live stream isn't the only source of video (or info) available. In the affidavit FBI Affidavit in Suport of Arrest Warrant | PDF | U.S. Immigration And Customs Enforcement | American Government we have this info:

Page 2 Info from other LE officers, reports, written materials, multiple recordings

Page 3 Lemon's live stream with closed captioning

Page 12 Other livestream video footage from another agitator

Page 13 Broadcast video from Cities Church

Page 14 Open source social media videos

Page 14 Incident reports from St. Paul PD

Point 36 may be critical to this entire thing if the redacted name is Lemon.

View attachment 642508

There are 6 males named on the indictment but in the affidavit only 1 is named and that's Kelly, so it's not him. That leaves:

LEMON
RICHARDSON
LUNDY
CREWS
AUSTIN

The redaction is a fairly short name so we can reasonably cross Richardson off the list. That leaves Lemon and 3 others.

The way it's worded is pretty curious since Lemon claims he was there as a journalist and not with protestors. The recording appears to show (according to the affidavit) that he (whoever that is) was engaging in the same activity, along with them.

It seems pointless to say "so and so was seen on video chanting with the agitators" if, whoever that someone is, is already admitting to being a protestor. There's really no reason to point this out unless it's someone claiming they were not with the protestors, just there to report on it. And there's video evidence documenting it.

jmo

I post a link to the unredacted GJ indictment. That might help.