It is a popular misconception that the freedom of the press, enshrined in the First Amendment, is absolute. It isn’t and never has been.
The recent arrest of podcaster Don Lemon on federal criminal charges that he willingly joined a mob of anti-ICE protesters who stormed a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, during Sunday services will inevitably test the established boundaries of press freedom.
Journalists, however defined, cannot, without legal consequences, engage in sedition, defamation, obscenity, threats of violence, breaches of national security and the commission of crimes.
Calling yourself a “journalist” or claiming that you are simply “doing journalism,” as Lemon has done, is no defense. It’s yours behavior that examines the law. Both words and actions can reveal your intention.
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This is why Lemon is in criminal danger. His own digital videos seem to incriminate him.
Footage Lemon posted online shows that he was not just an observer recording the illegal protest at the church, which would be a typical role of a reporter. Instead, he appeared to be an active participant who joined the crowd and joined their cause by harassing and tormenting the parishioners.
Don Lemon live-streamed left-wing agitators storming St. Paul’s Cities Church under suspicion that the pastor had collaborated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)
Lemon confronted the preacher with controversial questions, the same way the agitators gathered together in bewilderment — and perhaps fear. You can see and hear him argue on their behalf that they were allowed to invade the church, disrupt the service, and shut down worshipers under the guise of the First Amendment’s freedom of speech.
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Not surprisingly, Lemon’s cavalier reading demonstrates a stunning ignorance of the law. Freedom of expression is no more absolute than freedom of the press.
In America, the right to protest does not extend to private property and certainly not to places of worship. By law, they are protected places — secure spaces where people of all faiths can exercise their other First Amendment rights to practice their religion without punishment or prosecution.
There are several federal statutes that provide protection. The Klan Act of 1871 makes it a crime for anyone to conspire to intimidate and interfere with the civil rights of congregants. Another act, codified at 18 USC 247, prohibits the intentional interference, by force or threat of force, with another’s free exercise of religious beliefs.
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However, the indictment accuses Lemon of conspiring to deprive others of their civil rights and violating the FACE Act (18 USC 248). Section 2 of that law strictly protects places of worship against threats, intimidation and interference.
Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, pictured on January 22, 2026. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
The predictable outrage over the allegations was immediately expressed by Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, who declared it an “unprecedented attack on the First Amendment.” It was an ironic statement, as worshipers were attacked for exercising their First Amendment religious rights.
Lowell, who represented Hunter Biden in two criminal cases that resulted in convictions and guilty verdicts, invoked Lemon’s right as a journalist to cover events of newsworthy interest.
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But was that really what he did? It is the core question that will be at the heart of any process to come. Was Lemon acting as a journalist? Or did he shake off that role and join the crowd through his behavior as a willing participant? This is where his actions and words become crucial.
Based on video footage, Lemon was aware of the demonstrators’ plan to storm the church and take over morning prayers. He admitted to doing “reconnaissance” with them, some of whom were members of Minnesota Black Lives Matter. He handed out donuts and coffee to the demonstrators and promised to accompany them on their ‘Operation Pull-Up’.
As activists stormed Cities Church, so did Lemon, who shoved his microphone in the face of a visibly shaken Pastor Jonathan Parnell, who called the noisy intrusion “unacceptable and shameful.” What followed was not an interview, but a condescending and combative dressing down.
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“There is such a thing as a Constitution and a First Amendment,” Lemon insisted, unaware that churches are protected sites and that such an antagonistic invasion constituted the crimes of trespassing, disorderly conduct, disrupting a religious gathering and violations of the FACE Act.
Whether Lemon behaved like a journalist or not is irrelevant. Churches are private property, not public spaces. Access is limited. An invitation to the general public to worship does not give rise to the right to disrupt services. Even assuming Lemon was acting as a journalist, he still committed a criminal offense.
When a parishioner objected to Lemon and the gang interfering, he replied breezily, “Nobody’s fighting.” That, of course, is not the litmus test for violation. In another video, he boasted that the whole point of ruining the church service was “to make people feel uncomfortable.” He clearly shared that goal with the crowd.
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Later, Lemon appeared on a left-wing podcast and described the church’s members as “white supremacists,” as if that somehow justified an attack on them. Not only is it a despicable comment, but it also suggests that the congregants were taunted because of their race, which could qualify as a hate crime.
After learning he was the subject of a criminal investigation, Lemon suddenly embraced the mantle of victimhood, saying, “I’m the biggest name there.” As he has done before, he claimed he was targeted because he was a “gay black man.”
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In our legal system, Lemon enjoys the presumption of innocence. The case against him will not be easy to prosecute. Lowell is a skilled attorney who will mount a formidable defense when raising reasonable doubt. He will also file numerous pretrial motions challenging the charges themselves.
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If the case goes to trial, the outcome could further define the boundaries of what journalists can and cannot do in pursuing stories. Good reporters know that their job is to cover events, not participate in them or influence them.
Lemon, who was fired from CNN, never seemed to understand this basic principle of journalism.
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