Don Lemon went to church looking for some ICE for his Lemonaid. He got arrested. Thursday night, the feds arrested former CNN host Don Lemon while he was in Los Angeles covering the Grammys. On January 18, fifty-nine-year-old Lemon joined a group of disruptors as they bumrushed the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The group said they invaded the church to protest against the tactics used by ICE agents in Minneapolis. Lemon said he was there as a journalist and not as a member of the mob.
Â
Don Lemon, who once dreamed of serving as a White House spokesperson in the first Trump administration, entered the church with his eyes wide shut.
“The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable,” said Lemon’s attorney Abbe Lowell.
While journalists practicing journalism are protected under the First Amendment, journalists aren’t given carte blanche to join Robinhood in robbing a bank without consequences.
Lemon said he went into the church on a tip. However, he ended up joining the crime.
On January 22, the federal agents (FBI/HSI) arrested the ring leader, Nekima Levy Armstrong, and two others for their role in the invasion of the church that Lemon entered. A federal magistrate had given Lemon a reprieve by filing Lemon’s act under journalism.
The First Amendment vs. the Right To Worship.
The law allows the eyes to record whatever they can see in public spaces or from public spaces. The law does not allow for the invasion of private property or the recording of where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.
On April 24, 2023, CNN fired Don Lemon, ending his 17-year career at the beleaguered network. CNN would later settle the Lemon aid contract for $17 million.
Also on Friday, federal law enforcement agents arrested journalist Georgia Fort. Ms. Fort had participated in the January 18 church invasion.
“It’s hard to understand how we have a Constitution, Constitutional rights, when we can just be arrested for being a member of the press,” Georgia Fort said as they took her into custody.
Note: Media Corp fully supports First Amendment activities, but not stupidity.
>>The First Amendment, adopted in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, prohibits Congress from restricting five fundamental freedoms: religion (both establishment and free exercise), speech, press, assembly, and petition. It protects expression from government censorship, though not from all private restrictions, and allows for reasonable, content-neutral limits on time, place, and manner.<<

