GREGG JARRETT: Don Lemon left his press pass at the door when he joined church-storming mob

It is simply a fashionable fallacy that state of the property enshrined successful the First Amendment is absolute. It is not and ne'er has been.

The caller apprehension of podcaster Don Lemon connected national transgression charges that helium willingly joined a mob of anti-ICE protesters who stormed a St. Paul, Minnesota religion during Sunday services volition inevitably trial well-established limits connected property freedoms. 

Journalists, nevertheless defined, cannot, without ineligible consequences prosecute successful incitement, defamation, obscenity, threatened violence, nationalist information breaches, and the committee of crimes.  

Calling yourself a "journalist" oregon claiming that you are simply "committing journalism," arsenic Lemon has done, is not a defense. It is your behavior that the instrumentality examines. Both words and actions tin uncover your intent.

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This is wherefore Lemon has recovered himself successful transgression jeopardy. His ain integer videos look to incriminate him.  

In footage that Lemon posted online, it appears that helium was not simply an perceiver signaling the amerciable protestation wrong the church, which would beryllium a emblematic relation of a reporter. Instead, helium seemed to beryllium an progressive subordinate who embedded himself with the mob and joined their origin successful harassing and tormenting the parishioners.

Don  Lemon livestreamed left-wing agitators who stormed St. Paul's Cities Church nether the suspicion that its pastor had collaborated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)

Lemon confronted the pastor with contentious questions, the aforesaid mode that the agitators accosted stunned —and possibly fearful — congregates. You tin spot and perceive him arguing connected their behalf that they were allowed to invade the church, disrupt the service, and shutdown worshipers nether the guise of the First Amendment’s escaped code clause.

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Not surprisingly, Lemon’s arrogant lecture shows a stunning ignorance of the law. Free code is nary much implicit than state of the press. 

In America, the close to protestation does not widen to backstage spot and surely not to houses of worship. By law, they are protected places — secured spaces wherever radical of each faiths tin workout their different First Amendment close to signifier their religion without punishment oregon persecution.  

There are respective national statutes that spend protection. The Klan Act of 1871 makes it a transgression for anyone to conspire to intimidate and interfere with the civilian rights of congregants. A antithetic enactment codified successful 18 USC 247 prohibits the intentional obstruction, by unit oregon menace of force, of immoderate person’s escaped workout of spiritual beliefs.

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However, the indictment charges Lemon with conspiring to deprive others of their civilian rights and violating the FACE Act (18 USC 248). Section 2 of that instrumentality strictly protects places of worship from threats, intimidation and interference.

Cities Church successful St. Paul, Minnesota, pictured connected Jan. 22, 2026. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Predictable outrage implicit the charges was voiced instantly by Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, who declared that it was an "unprecedented onslaught connected the First Amendment." It was an ironic statement, fixed that worshipers were attacked for exercising their First Amendment spiritual rights.

Lowell, who represented Hunter Biden successful 2 transgression cases resulting successful convictions and blameworthy pleas, invoked Lemon’s close arsenic a writer to screen events of newsworthy interest.

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But is that what helium was truly doing? It is the halfway question that volition beryllium cardinal successful immoderate forthcoming trial. Was Lemon acting arsenic a journalist? Or did helium shed that relation and, by his behavior, articulation the mob arsenic a consenting participant? This is wherever his actions and words go pivotal.  

Based connected video footage, Lemon knew of the protesters' program to barge into the religion and instrumentality implicit greeting prayers. He admitted that helium had done "reconnaissance" with them, immoderate of whom were members of Minnesota Black Lives Matter. He handed retired donuts and java to the demonstrators and vowed to travel them connected their "Operation Pull-Up." 

As activists rushed into the Cities Church, truthful did Lemon who shoved his microphone successful the look of the evidently shocked Pastor Jonathan Parnell who called the noisy intrusion "unacceptable and shameful." What followed wasn’t an interview, but a condescending and belligerent dressing-down.

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"There’s specified a happening arsenic a Constitution and a First Amendment," lectured Lemon, unaware that churches are protected venues and that specified an antagonistic penetration constituted the crimes of trespass, disorderly conduct, disturbing a spiritual meeting, and violations of the FACE Act.

Whether Lemon behaved arsenic a writer oregon not is arguably irrelevant. Churches are backstage property, not nationalist spaces.  Access is restricted. An invitation to the wide nationalist to worship does not springiness emergence to a close to disrupt services.  Even assuming that Lemon acted arsenic a journalist, helium inactive committed a transgression trespass.

Indeed, erstwhile a parishioner objected that Lemon and the mob were trespassing, helium glibly replied, "Nobody’s fighting." That, of course, is not the litmus trial for trespass. In different video, helium boasted that the full constituent of ruining the religion work was "to marque radical uncomfortable." He intelligibly shared that extremity with the mob.

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Later, Lemon appeared connected a leftist podcast and described the members of the religion arsenic "entitled achromatic supremacists," arsenic if that someway justified an onslaught connected them. It is not conscionable a despicable remark, but it suggests that the congregants were taunted due to the fact that of their race, which could suffice arsenic a hatred crime.   

After Lemon learned that helium was the taxable of a transgression investigation, helium abruptly embraced the mantle of victimhood by stating, "I’m the biggest sanction there." As helium has done before, helium claimed that helium was being targeted due to the fact that he’s a "gay achromatic man."

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In our strategy of justice, Lemon enjoys the presumption of innocence. The lawsuit against him volition not beryllium an casual 1 to prosecute. Lowell is an capable lawyer who volition equine a formidable defence successful casting tenable doubt. He volition besides record a myriad of pre-trial motions challenging the indictment itself.

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If the lawsuit does spell to trial, the result whitethorn further specify the limits of what journalists tin and cannot bash successful the pursuit of stories. Good reporters cognize that their occupation is to screen events, not to enactment successful oregon power them.  

Lemon, who was fired from CNN, ne'er seemed to recognize this basal tenet of journalism.

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