Don Lemon, former CNN reporter, was arrested by the Department of Justice for allegedly participating in a “coordinated take-over” protest against ICE-supporters worshipping at a Minnesota Church on Jan. 18. Lemon, along with his team and six other individuals involved in the protest were charged for interfering with the First Amendment of disrupting a religious service and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinical Entrances (FACE) Act, which prohibits threatening people at a place they are exercising their religious freedom.

“We do not tolerate attacks on places of worship,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said, who had raised the charges to arrest the individuals engaged in the protest.

Witnesses state that Lemon and the rest of the protesters blocked those inside, hindering them from leaving the church, and physically surrounded Pastor John Parnell, attempting to “intimidate him” by firing questions about his role in ICE. 

​​“It is shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship… I have to take care of my flock and my family… We’re here to worship Jesus. That’s why we’re here” Pastor Parnell said.

The Department of Justice used evidence of Lemon in a video he shot right before the protest, in which he provides details about classified information on the plan, indicating that he was more than just a journalist and instead, an actual part of the operation. 

“Videotaping your crime spree does not give you immunity from prosecution; it just creates more evidence for prosecutors to use against you,” Pennsylvanian lawyer Kyle Sammin, said.

However, Lemon remains firm in his belief that he had his protected rights as a journalist to communicate what he had seen in the church. He argued that his arrest served no purpose other than for the White House to keep influential figures like him quiet.

“I was not there as an activist. I was there as a journalist,” Lemon said. “I will not be silenced.”