❓WHAT HAPPENED: Ex-CNN host Don Lemon pleaded not guilty in a Minnesota federal court over allegations of participating in an anti-ICE mob that stormed a church service.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Don Lemon, Nekima Levy Armstrong, three additional defendants, and congregants of Cities Church.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The alleged incident occurred last month at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lemon appeared in court on Friday, February 13, 2026.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The First Amendment does not protect premeditated schemes to violate the sanctity of a sanctuary, disrupt worship services, or intimidate children.” — Renee Carlson, General Counsel for True North Legal, representing Cities Church
🎯IMPACT: Lemon faces federal charges under the FACE Act and conspiracy to violate religious freedoms.
Ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon entered a not guilty plea in a Minnesota federal court on Friday following his arrest for alleged involvement with an anti-ICE mob that stormed Cities Church in St. Paul last month. Lemon livestreamed the church storming, showing himself accompanying a group of agitators who interrupted a Sunday service, menacing and harassing congregants.
In his livestream, Lemon referred to the operation as “secret” and stated, “[I] can’t tell you what is going to happen, but you’re going to watch it live unfold here on the Don Lemon Show.” At one point, Lemon turned off his camera, claiming the group was sharing “critical information.” He also thanked the church storming’s organizer, radical black activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, who is facing similar charges, during the broadcast.
Federal authorities arrested Lemon in Los Angeles late last month, charging him with conspiracy to violate religious freedoms and violations of the FACE Act, which prohibits the disruption of religious services. Lemon has maintained that his actions were protected under the First Amendment, asserting he was there as an independent journalist. “We’re here just chronicling and reporting. We’re not part of the activist, but we’re here just reporting on them,” he said in his livestream.
Renee Carlson, General Counsel for True North Legal, representing Cities Church, pushed back on Lemon’s defense. “By pleading not guilty, Don Lemon and other defendants are doubling down on their claim that the press can do whatever they want under the auspices of journalism, while also defending the invasion of a church. This was a coordinated, planned operation,” Carlson stated, adding, “The First Amendment does not protect premeditated schemes to violate the sanctity of a sanctuary, disrupt worship services, or intimidate children.”
During the hearing, Lemon’s legal team requested the return of his phone, which remains in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under a sealed search warrant. Lemon, in his livestream, acknowledged the discomfort caused to worshippers, saying, “You have to make people uncomfortable in these times. If you see how uncomfortable … and how harsh people are being treated on the streets, you have to be willing to go into places and disrupt and make people uncomfortable. That is what this country is about.”
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