Journalist Don Lemon Enters Plea For Charges In MN Church Protest

ST. PAUL, MN — Journalist Don Lemon pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges stemming from his coverage of a protest at a St. Paul church over federal immigration enforcement operations in the Twin Cities, according to reports from The Associated Press and NBC News.

Lemon is among nine people charged under the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which prohibits interference or intimidation of “any person by force, threat of force, or physical obstruction exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.”

The charges stem from his coverage of an anti-ICE demonstration that disrupted a church service at Cities Church in St. Paul in January. Lemon previously said he was present inside the church solely as a journalist covering the demonstration and not as a participant, but he was arrested on Jan. 30 in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy Awards.

During Friday's hearing, Lemon told Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko that he understood the charges against him, NBC News reported.

“For more than 30 years, I’ve been a journalist, and the power and protection of the First Amendment has been the underpinning of my work,” Lemon said outside the courthouse after his arraignment. “The First Amendment, the freedom of the press, are the bedrock of our democracy.”

Civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong was among the other defendants who pleaded not guilty. The prominent local activist was the subject of a doctored photo posted on the official White House social media that falsely showed her crying during her arrest. The picture is part of a deluge of AI-altered imagery that has circulated since the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minneapolis amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Lemon’s attorney Abbe David Lowell asked during the hearing for his client's phone to be returned after it was taken from him during his arrest in Los Angeles. Prosecutors said the phone is in Department of Homeland Security custody, and that the search warrant for it is under seal. The phone cannot be returned until the search process is completed, the prosecutor said.

Two more defendants accused in the protest at a Southern Baptist church in St. Paul are scheduled for arraignment next week, including another independent journalist, Georgia Fort.

Cities Church was initially targeted by demonstrators because one of its pastors serves as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s field office in St. Paul. Protesters interrupted the church service by chanting "ICE out."

The church protest drew sharp complaints from conservative religious and political leaders. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned in a social media post: “President Trump will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of Christians in their sacred places of worship.” Even clergy who oppose the administration's immigration enforcement tactics expressed discomfort.

The Trump administration previously sought to charge Lemon, Fort, and others under a federal law protecting religious services. However, a magistrate judge approved charges against only three individuals, rejecting the evidence against Lemon and several others as insufficient.

The Justice Department later asked a federal appeals court to force approval of additional warrants, but that request was denied.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.