Former CNN personality Don Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles this week in connection with the January 18 disruption of a service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, a dramatic development that shows the federal government is taking literal house-of-worship invasions seriously. Federal agents swooped in while Lemon was on assignment in L.A., underscoring that the rule of law applies no matter how famous the accused might be.
Prosecutors have brought federal civil rights and conspiracy charges tied to the protest that broke up worship at Cities Church, invoking statutes meant to protect religious exercise and public order. Authorities say the conduct went beyond peaceful picketing and crossed into interference with congregants’ First Amendment rights, prompting an unprecedented justice department response.
Video and reporting show activists chanting “ICE out” as they entered the sanctuary, and Mr. Lemon livestreamed and interviewed participants before following them inside—behavior he later described as journalistic coverage. Whether he was reporting or participating will be a key question in court, but eyewitnesses and prosecutors say the disruption left worshippers shocked and scattered.
Let there be no confusion among decent Americans: storming a church during service is wrong, period. Conservatives who believe in the free exercise of religion should be united in defending congregations from theatrical political stunts that weaponize worship for headlines.
This arrest also exposes media hypocrisy. Lemon, who has been out of mainstream network television since his exit from CNN in 2023, has repackaged himself as an activist-influencer—and now faces the consequences of behaving like a protester, not a neutral reporter. There are limits to what partisan journalists can do when they cross the line into direct action.
The Justice Department’s civil-rights probe and the magistrate judge’s earlier scrutiny of warrants make clear this is not a trivial matter or a partisan witch hunt; prosecutors are treating the interruption of worship as a federal civil-rights violation. Americans should welcome a system that protects the quiet, sacred right to worship without intimidation or disruption.
Of course, press freedom matters — but so do accountability and the rights of everyday worshippers. The press is not a shield that grants immunity to anyone who chooses to turn a church service into a political theater. If Lemon crossed the line from reporting into orchestrating or facilitating the invasion of a sanctuary, he must answer for it under the same laws that protect every other citizen.
Lemon’s attorney has vowed a vigorous fight and framed the arrest as an assault on the First Amendment, but the American people will judge actions by their consequences as much as words. Conservatives should stand firm for religious liberty, demand equal application of the law, and insist that no one, no matter their fame or political connections, be allowed to treat houses of worship as stages for disruption.
