Staff Reports
Don Lemon was taken into federal custody in Los Angeles on January 29, 2026 and federally charged for his role in a disruptive anti-ICE protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The indictment includes allegations of conspiracy to deprive civil rights and violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, the kind of serious charges that usually get headlines only when they hit conservative activists — yet here the media bubble is trying to turn the story into a martyrdom narrative.
Video and reporting show a protest that interrupted worship services at Cities Church while demonstrators targeted a pastor alleged to be affiliated with ICE, and prosecutors say reporters on scene crossed a line from observing to actively participating. Americans who defend both the First Amendment and the sanctity of worship should be unsettled by anyone cheering disruptions inside a house of worship, regardless of their political brand.
Lemon was released on his own recognizance after a federal court appearance in Los Angeles on January 30, 2026, with restrictions on contacting victims or co-defendants and a follow-up hearing set for February 9 in Minneapolis. The image of a cable-news familiar face walking out of court supported by local Democratic politicians and a predictable chorus of outrage should not blind Americans to the facts of the indictment itself.
It’s also true that a magistrate initially declined to approve a proposed criminal complaint in this case, but federal prosecutors later pushed forward with an indictment via a grand jury — a reminder that our justice system can be messy and persistent. Conservatives who value the rule of law should insist that process matters: if prosecutors have evidence, they should pursue charges against anyone; if they do not, the accused should be vindicated.
Make no mistake: Lemon and his defenders loudly claim journalistic protection under the First Amendment, and press freedom is worth defending when the state truly overreaches. Yet the First Amendment doesn’t give anyone a license to organize or cheer on the interruption of worship services, and we shouldn’t allow celebrity status to become a get-out-of-accountability card.
What stings conservatives most is the double standard: media elites like Lemon have spent years sanctifying protests when they suit a narrative, then howl about government overreach when the consequences reach them. Patriots who love free speech and law and order see two lessons here — defend constitutional liberties, and enforce the law evenly so churches, private citizens, and communities aren’t left to pick up the pieces after shouted-down services and politicized confrontations.
Whatever the legal outcome in Minneapolis, this episode should provoke a wider debate about the role of journalists who cross the line into activism and about protecting sacred spaces from political theatrics. America can and must hold everyone accountable while protecting the constitutional rights that bind us, but there is nothing patriotic about cheering chaos inside a church simply because a favored pundit is involved.
