DOJ Puts Don Lemon 'On Notice' After Church Storming Probe

The Department of Justice has placed former CNN anchor Don Lemon squarely on notice after he embedded with anti-ICE agitators who stormed Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, during Sunday worship.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon delivered the rebuke on X.

"A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest! It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws! Nor does the First Amendment protect your pseudo journalism of disrupting a prayer service. You are on notice!"

She added that the FBI has been activated to investigate the desecration of a house of worship and interference with Christian worshippers.

The incident unfolded amid escalating protests triggered by the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, by ICE agent Jonathan Ross earlier this month in Minneapolis.

Protesters from groups including the Racial Justice Network burst into the Southern Baptist-affiliated church, chanting "ICE out" and "Justice for Renee Good."

They targeted the congregation under the belief that pastor David Easterwood also serves as acting director of ICE's St. Paul field office, a connection confirmed by matching personal details and church listings, though Easterwood was not present during the disruption.

Lemon, now an independent commentator livestreaming on YouTube, entered with the group, filmed the chaos, and confronted shaken congregants.

Church lead pastor Jonathan Parnell called the intrusion "shameful."

In a tense exchange captured on video, one churchgoer told Lemon, "These people have come into our house, and they’ve interrupted our worship. This is a house of peace... I feel violated. I feel interrupted. I feel angry."

Lemon pushed back with claims of warrantless ICE raids and low crime rates among immigrants, insisting, "I’m giving you the facts."

Lemon dismissed criticism, stating he had "no affiliations" with the protesters and acted as a journalist under First Amendment protections.

The DOJ's Civil Rights Division is now probing potential violations of the FACE Act, which safeguards religious exercise from force or intimidation.

This brazen invasion of sacred space exposes the raw hypocrisy of those who scream about rights while trampling the most fundamental one: the right to worship in peace. Lemon, once quick to demand censorship of "hateful" speech from Elon Musk, now cloaks mob disruption as journalism.

The message from the Trump administration's DOJ is unmistakable: houses of God are not battlegrounds for political theater.