Don Lemon arrested for alleged involvement in church protest: the internet reacts
On the heels of a controversial anti-immigration enforcement protest operation that burst into a church in Minnesota last week, journalist Don Lemon has been arrested
Analysis by Summer Lane | January 30, 2026
Journalist Don Lemon has been arrested in connection with the now-infamous protester-fueled disruption of a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota – an incident that frightened churchgoers and sparked controversy after footage of the scary moment surfaced on social media.
“At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement on Friday.
As reported by LindellTV, last week, three arrests were made in connection with the riots: Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and William Kelly.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the arrests of Armstrong and Allen were fueled by an alleged violation of the FACE Act, a law that prohibits the use of threat or force and physical obstruction for those seeking to obtain reproductive health services or to exercise their First Amendment rights at a place of worship.
However, the DOJ’s attempts to bring charges against Lemon, who was present at the protest, were initially rejected by a Minnesota magistrate judge.
Lemon formerly worked for CNN, but after losing his job on the platform in 2023, he became an independent journalist and launched his own show.
“The FBI’s arrest of our former CNN colleague Don Lemon raises profoundly concerning questions about press freedom and the First Amendment,” CNN Communications said in a statement. “The Department of Justice already failed twice to get an arrest warrant for Don and several other journalists in Minnesota, where a chief judge of the Minnesota Federal District Court found there was ‘no evidence’ that there was any criminal behavior involved in their work.”
Lemon’s arrest has stirred debate online. Prominent independent journalist Megyn Kelly noted on X, “If lemon had stayed on the sidewalk, as every journo knows we must do when covering a story on private property unless we have advance permission to enter (we all deal with this – it’s a pain in the neck to get permission sometimes, and it often means we miss the best pictures BUT WE COMPLY WITH THE LAW BC WE ALL KNOW PRIVATE PROPERTY CHANGES OUR RIGHTS), this would be a different case. He didn’t.”
She argued that Lemon’s actions as a journalist in this case resulted in alleged trespassing into a church, resulting in the disruption of a worship service, which many may see as a violation of First Amendment rights.
“In short, he chose the wrong event to storm,” Kelly argued. “Ppl were hurt. They were scared. He knew it and his comments on cam prove he knew it.”
Daily Wire commentator and host Matt Walsh posited on Lemon’s arrest, “He HAS to be convicted and sent to prison for an extended length of time. If he is not convicted or not seriously punished then this whole thing is an unequivocal win for him. It makes him a martyr and ten times more famous with no significant consequence.”
Unfortunately for Lemon, he is on video admitting before the incursion into the St. Paul church service that there was a premeditated plan to execute on a disruptive demonstration.
“These are resistance protestors; they’re planning an operation and we’re going to follow them on, I can’t tell you exactly what they’re doing…it’s Lekima Armstrong and she has been doing this since George Floyd, Daunte Wright, where they surprise people, catch them off guard, and hold them to account,” Lemon stated before the disruption.
Podcaster Patrick Bet-David remarked online, “Arresting Don Lemon is the right move. Never in the history of journalism has a well known journalist joined protestors to enter a church during worship and confront a pastor. If nothing happens here, it sets a dangerous precedent. It invites copycats, YouTubers, activists, citizen journalists, to storm churches, mosques, and other places of worship chasing clicks and virality.”
Photo: Adobe Stock
