Former CNN host Don Lemon took to TikTok on Sunday to defend his participation in what many are calling a blatant act of harassment against Christians, claiming that filming a mob storming a Minneapolis church service was merely an “act of journalism.”
The incident, which took place at Cities Church, involved rioters protesting immigration enforcement disrupting a Sunday service. Lemon, who livestreamed the event on YouTube, found himself in the crosshairs of federal authorities after the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced a probe into the matter.
In his video response, Lemon appeared agitated and dismissive, particularly targeting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon.
“The MAGA administration and the fake news MAGAs are losing their mind over something that’s not even true,” Lemon said, feigning ignorance of the high-ranking official’s name. “This assistant attorney general, I don’t know — gosh, what’s her name? Something Hammet Dillon or whatever… I didn’t even know they were going to this church until we followed them there.”
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However, Lemon’s claim of ignorance regarding the group’s target stands in stark contrast to his own commentary just moments before the disruption.
“Operation Pull Up” and Premeditation
Before the chaos erupted inside the sanctuary, Lemon introduced the group’s leader to his livestream audience, teasing an organized event dubbed “Operation Pull Up.”
“I can’t tell you exactly what they’re doing, but it’s called Operation Pull Up,” Lemon told his viewers, noting that the group plans to “surprise people, catch them off guard and hold them to account.”
Critics argue this suggests Lemon was not merely a passive observer “chronicling protests,” as he claimed, but an active participant aware that a targeted disruption was imminent.
“Uncomfortable and Traumatic”
Perhaps the most jarring aspect of Lemon’s livestream was his real-time commentary as the situation inside the church deteriorated. As footage showed families and young children fleeing the sanctuary into Minneapolis’s brutal 14-degree weather to escape the shouting demonstrators, Lemon offered a cold assessment of the fear visible in the pews.
“Watch this guy here, look, he’s hugging his kid, and you know, I imagine it is uncomfortable and traumatic for the people here,” Lemon remarked, briefly breaking character to warn his cameraman about ice on the ground.
Rather than condemning the intimidation of families at prayer, Lemon justified it.
“It’s uncomfortable and traumatic for the people here, but that’s really… that’s what protesting is about. The whole point of it is to disrupt and make people uncomfortable.”
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The FACE Act and Federal Response
The nonchalant attitude toward disrupting a religious gathering has drawn the full attention of the Department of Justice. Attorney General Pam Bondi did not mince words, vowing to utilize the “full force of federal law” to protect religious liberty.
“I just spoke to the Pastor in Minnesota whose church was targeted. Attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law,” Bondi stated on X.
Harmeet Dhillon pointed specifically to the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act (18 USC 248). While the Biden administration frequently utilized this statute to prosecute pro-life demonstrators praying outside abortion clinics, the law also explicitly prohibits the intentional disruption of religious services.
Lemon, however, remains defiant, waving the banner of the First Amendment to shield the actions of the mob.
“It’s called journalism,” Lemon insisted. “First Amendment, all that stuff, for all of you people who believe in the First Amendment, absolutists, there you go.”
As federal investigators look closer at the footage, the question remains whether they will view Lemon as a reporter covering the news, or an accessory to a federal crime who knew exactly where “Operation Pull Up” was heading.
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