Former CNN talking head Don Lemon just found out the hard way that “journalism” is not a magic word that excuses bad behavior. Lemon is now on the Justice Department’s radar after allegedly joining a mob of anti ICE protesters who stormed a church service Sunday in St. Paul, disrupting worship and turning a house of prayer into a political circus.
The warning came straight from Harmeet Dhillon, who did not sugarcoat a thing. “A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest,” she wrote on X, reminding Lemon and his friends that churches are protected by federal criminal and civil law. She went further, saying the First Amendment does not protect “pseudo journalism” that disrupts a prayer service. Her follow up was even clearer. “You are on notice,” she said, adding that the FBI had been activated to look into what she described as the desecration of a house of worship.
That is not cancel culture. That is the law.
According to reports, several dozen agitators burst into Cities Church during Sunday morning services, chanting “ICE out” after deciding, apparently based on rumor, that the church’s pastor was tied to federal immigration enforcement. Lemon entered the church alongside the mob and began filming as the disruption unfolded, later amplifying the accusation online. If that sounds less like reporting and more like participation, that is because it was.
Don Lemon tried lecturing a pastor on the First Amendment after a mob of far-left activists stormed a church in Minneapolis.
But let’s be clear the First Amendment protects free speech, not chaos. Churches are private property, and worship isn’t a protest zone. What happened… pic.twitter.com/aexy5xOILA
— Digital Gal (@DigitalGalX) January 19, 2026
🚨 BREAKING: Assistant AG Harmeet Dhillon confirms Don Lemon is NOT PROTECTED from FACE Act charges after the left stormed a church with him
"He CLEARLY knew about the violation of federal law."
"The only question is HOW MANY CHARGES will be brought?" 🔥pic.twitter.com/YFZJKftBFt
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 19, 2026
BREAKING: DOJ Announces Intention to Charge Don Lemon under the Ku Klux Klan Act.
The KKK Act makes it illegal to threaten, hurt, or intimidate people to prevent them from exercising their God-given rights.
HARMEET DHILLON: "The Klan Act is one of the most important federal… pic.twitter.com/GWnXAMtWc9
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 19, 2026
Lemon has since brushed off calls for accountability, insisting he was simply exercising protected speech. He claimed the Trump administration and “fake news MAGAs” are “losing their mind” over something he says is not true. He maintains he had no affiliation with the group and that his presence was an act of journalism. That argument might play well in a media studies classroom. It does not hold up in the real world.
Cities Church pastor Jonathan Parnell called the protest “shameful” when Lemon interviewed him on camera. Lemon’s response was predictable, lecturing about the Constitution and the right to protest, as if barging into a worship service mid prayer somehow qualifies as peaceful assembly.
What makes this episode especially rich is Lemon’s recent history. In 2024, he sat across from Elon Musk and pressured him to remove memes Lemon deemed hateful from X. Musk refused, pointing out that the posts were not illegal. Apparently, Lemon believes free speech is sacred when it benefits him and optional when it inconveniences him.
The irony writes itself.
Storming a church is not activism. It is intimidation. Dressing it up as journalism does not change that. The First Amendment protects speech, not mobs disrupting religious services. Lemon knew exactly what he was doing, and now the Justice Department is reminding him that cameras do not grant immunity.
For years, Don Lemon lectured Americans about norms, decency, and respect. Now he is learning that those standards apply to him too.