Staff Reports
Don Lemon was front and center this week when he live-streamed a protest that interrupted worship at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota — footage that sparked a Justice Department inquiry before a federal magistrate judge declined to sign off on charges. What conservative Americans saw was not dispassionate reporting but a media star embedding himself with activists and cheering on disruption, then trying to hide behind the First Amendment when pushback came.
Video reviewed by reporters shows Lemon describing the effort as a “clandestine operation,” following activists from a parking lot into the church and spending about 45 minutes interviewing protesters and parishioners while protesters chanted and interrupted the service. He repeatedly told viewers he was “just chronicling and reporting,” even as he voiced sympathy for the tactic of making people “uncomfortable” to force change — a line no true objective reporter should be crossing inside a house of worship.
Make no mistake: this was activism dressed up as journalism. The footage indicates Lemon was with organizers before they entered the church and positioned himself as a sympathetic witness rather than an impartial observer, which undermines any claim that he was merely doing his job and exposes the double standard of media elites who pretend there is a bright line between reporting and organizing.
The Justice Department’s attempt to pursue charges — and the rare rebuke from a magistrate judge who declined to approve them — has inflamed partisans on both sides, with Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly furious at the decision. Even if prosecutors erred, the real question conservatives should be asking is why a prominent media personality felt emboldened to help orchestrate disruption of religious services without fear of consequences.
Don Lemon’s turn from cable anchor to internet provocateur is well known: once a face of CNN, he now brands himself as an independent commentator and showman, trading on controversy to build an audience. That background matters because it frames this incident not as an isolated mistake but as part of a pattern where high-profile left-leaning figures weaponize media power to intimidate institutions they disagree with.
Americans who cherish religious liberty and civil order should be outraged, not only at the disruption of worship but at the arrogance of a self-styled journalist who treats churches as stages for political theater. If journalism is going to remain a trusted civic institution, reporters must stop moonlighting as activists; otherwise every pulpit will become a battleground and every sermon an opportunity for stunts and spectacle.
The real lesson for patriots is this: defend our houses of worship, demand equal application of the law, and never accept media elites acting above accountability. Don Lemon’s latest stunt is a reminder that the same people who preach tolerance will happily trample it when it suits their political agenda.
